Re: The News

1

I found this depressingly on-the-nose.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 7:44 AM
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1. Yes it is.

For instance this from AP, In a sharply divided country, here's something many Americans agree on: It's hard to know what's a true and honest fact.

Democrats are more likely to say they rely on scientists and academics, while Republicans are more likely to trust what they hear from President Donald Trump.
"When I hear him on Fox News -- that's where I get all my information," said Al Corra, a 48-year-old Republican from Midland, Texas. Trump, he said, is the easiest way to cut through an otherwise confusing information environment.
...
More Democrats than Republicans say they consider something to be factual if it's been verified by scientists -- 72% versus 40% -- as well as academics -- 57% versus 30%.

A plague of half-bright monkeys unleashed upon the Earth, look upon our works ye mighty and despair.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:21 AM
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Thirty percent or so of the population is all it takes to ruin things. They got that. You need a supermajority to not fuck things up in the face of a small group determined to shit on the floor.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:25 AM
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Fox must have some champion editors to make Trump the least confusing source in the information environment.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:26 AM
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Elsewhere in the annals of douchebags of infinite derpitude we have the tragic boredom of governance:

@NBCNews: Analysis: The first two witnesses called Wednesday testified to President Trump's scheme, but lacked the pizzazz necessary to capture public attention.

@jeffmason1: (Reuters) Consequential, but dull: Trump impeachment hearings begin without a bang
Unlike the best reality TV shows - not to mention the Trump presidency itself - fireworks and explosive moments were scarce, however.

Very non-wow. So boredom.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:36 AM
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Just back home from being on a vacation and may be a bit grumpy.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:37 AM
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4: It's true Trump contradicts himself a lot, but a lot of his supporters also believe that every word of the Bible is the literal Truth, so they have a lot of practice handling that kind of paradox.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:37 AM
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Teo is literally the only American ever to have read the entire Bible and he's a Democrat.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:47 AM
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4. You're confused. Trump is always consistent about the important question, "whose fault?"


Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:00 AM
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5: This stuff is soooo depressing. Literally, "Nothing to see here, move along" from our respectable purveyors of news.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:21 AM
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11

Meanwhile, Roger Stone puts the truth itself on trial.


Posted by: politicalfootball | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:23 AM
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9 but the answer is always "anyone but me". It's a lot like listening to a 2 year old sometimes.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:24 AM
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10: Not actually what they're saying.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:28 AM
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8: Not true. David Plotz, formerly of Slate, wrote a book about reading the entire Bible. Presumably, he is also a Democrat.

But, you only have to read the first few chapters of Genesis to get caught up in contradictions.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:38 AM
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14: I well bet money that effectively no Trump voters have read even that much.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:45 AM
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Unless Baptists actually read between sermons.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 10:46 AM
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15: I don't know. There's so many "Bible-study groups". At least a few of the participants have to read a few pages now and then. Right?


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 11:38 AM
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Last time I was hiking, there was a Bubble study group signed in the register two days ahead of me. There was also an entire tree put in a fire pit.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 11:47 AM
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The middle part was burned and the rest hanging out a dozen feet either side.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 11:58 AM
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18: That's quite a spellcheck error there.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 11:59 AM
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19: Some kind of a ritual sacrifice?


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:00 PM
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I think it was assholes playing with fire, unconcerned about the risk of spreading flames.

Also:
Stupid phone.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:15 PM
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I like bubbles.


Posted by: Stupid Phone | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:17 PM
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So did Michael Jackson.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:33 PM
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To be fair, it's a lot easier to maintain the inerrancy of the Bible if you haven't read it.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:34 PM
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I think most "Bible study" groups just read small, carefully selected passages.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:37 PM
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UPETGI is really the expert around here on conservative American Protestant attitudes toward the Bible, though. I'm sure he'll be along sooner or later to chime in.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:39 PM
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And the ones that don't are full of Democrats.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:39 PM
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29

Trump himself has almost certainly never read a word of the Bible, but I think he'd like Nehemiah.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:41 PM
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30

Bevin conceded, saying it isn't fair to ask the legislature to overturn the voters.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 12:44 PM
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31

This may have entertainment value if no more.


Posted by: chris y | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:01 PM
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30 is only fair, considering he's British and died 60 years ago.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:04 PM
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Bevin conceded, saying it isn't fair to ask the legislature to overturn the voters.

Last time they tried it it resulted in massive riots and at least one assassination, so that's probably for the best.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:13 PM
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34

Baby steps.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:25 PM
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So anyway, what, a Republican lost? The majority won? Yay?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:30 PM
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Where the fuck is this Kentucky place anyway? I thought it was just a junk-food brand.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:33 PM
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A Republican who very deliberately and explicitly tied himself to Trump lost the governor's race by 5,000 votes.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:35 PM
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That's not a lot. Do better, Kentucky. If you're an actual place, which I doubt.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:40 PM
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My great, great grandfather lived there. He worked for the Union army and was rewarded with land in Nebraska. So, he must not have tried very hard.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:42 PM
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On the other hand, it was some of the best land in Nebraska.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 1:52 PM
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All the stills in the world, you still need grain.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 2:28 PM
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42

There deed is interesting because title starts with Napoleon. I guess the Spanish don't count any more than the Pawnee.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:10 PM
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I know a number of Christians who have read the whole Bible. (OK, I'm taking their word for it, but they demonstrated impressive mastery.) I don;t think it is that uncommon among serious "literate" Christians.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:27 PM
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serious "literate" Christians Trump voters
You see my skepticism.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:39 PM
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When I was a little one I read the entirety of a comic book adaptation of the Bible. I vaguely recall feeling like it phoned in the Epistles, while totally playing up the historical books of the Hebrew Bible. Which, like, fair enough. Samson's a lot more fun than Paul slut-shaming or whatever.

I've thought about giving it a try sometime. I've been outside religion for so long that a refresher for cultural context and reminders of what other people believe would be useful, and I probably have some long held misconceptions that should be corrected.

As long as we're talking Abrahamic holy texts, I've also been meaning to read the Koran at some point. Can anyone suggest a good annotated English edition? My recollection last time I tried (when, admittedly, I was a cheap college student using Project Gutenberg's very old translation) was that the organization was not friendly to outsiders.


Posted by: dalriata | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:48 PM
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46

Arranged by length of surah, IIRC. Not friendly to anyone.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:52 PM
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47

But, 2nd 46. Also the same for Ibn Battuta, while we're about it.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 3:53 PM
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48

Read Moby Dick instead.

And listen to the complete recorded works of Peter Rowan. From the Wedding at Cana to the Heart Sutra.

Men and dogs jump to the sound of authority, they snap to attention at the sound of superiority


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 6:04 PM
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Is the violin in the third link some kind of heresy? Is it our destiny?


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 6:14 PM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc1UhRUTKsU

The video could use a lot of work, but those voices are great.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 6:38 PM
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If you ever feel sorrow For the deeds you have done With no hope for tomorrow In the setting of the sun And the ocean is howling For the things that might have been And that last good morning sunrise Will be the brightest you've ever seen

Posted by: Standpipe Bridgeplate | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 7:11 PM
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Have read Moby-Dick. An annotated English edition would not hurt though.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:09 PM
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53

I haven't read it.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:13 PM
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54

Do so!


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:20 PM
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I'm not having very good luck with fiction lately.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:25 PM
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56

This one is officially a Great American Novel, so you'll be good.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:27 PM
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Moby-Dick is one of those books that I think I should read, but almost certainly never will. Because a biblically-inflected narrative of the adventures of a whaler just doesn't interest me enough to make the effort, I guess.


Posted by: Just Plain Jane | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:28 PM
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I will almost certainly never read Joyce's Ulysses, either. Oh, I've read a few excerpts, of course: who hasn't? But I consider his demands upon the reader to be arrogant and excessive ("The demand that I make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to reading my works"), and anyway, I'm just too damn lazy.

(Have read Dubliners from first page to last, but that's different: that's reading James Joyce as storyteller, before he went all in with stream-of-consciousness, and stuff).


Posted by: Just Plain Jane | Link to this comment | 11-14-19 9:47 PM
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I'm sure it will surprise no one that I have also read Moby-Dick. It's not very fiction-y as fiction goes.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 12:08 AM
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38 It's where my beloved bourbon comes from.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:28 AM
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45.last If you're looking for an annotated version try The Study Quran, I went to grad school with one of the lead of the project and it's gotten good reviews though I've not looked at it. I prefer A.J. Arberry's The Koran Interpreted for capturing a good sense of the beauty of the Arabic though some consider it dated.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:31 AM
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Oh hey, I'm also thinking of reading the Qur'an somewhere down the line so thanks for the recommendations, Barry. I'm not too concerned about a modern or annotated version so it sounds like the Arberry might be the best option for me. (For the Bible and Apocrypha I'm using the King James Version.)


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:51 AM
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51. I was thinking of a link for that, what with praying at the Alamo and all, but figured I'd tried enough patience with the others.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 5:10 AM
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56: It's surprisingly funny, if that's any encouragement.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:35 AM
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64 to 57, rather. And 53, I suppose.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:36 AM
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What does "surprisingly funny" mean for a book where everybody dies except the one guy?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:56 AM
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They all die in Dark Star. It's still pretty funny.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:59 AM
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68

How about a spoiler alert.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:02 AM
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But I consider his demands upon the reader to be arrogant and excessive

Yeah, that's where I wound up, but only after having more or less read the whole book. Along with that, it didn't cohere for me as a single unified work - it was more like a series of literary experiments on the theme of a single day in the life of a few people in Dublin. It did have some great parts though.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:06 AM
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Just about everyone dies in Dr. Strangelove and it's pretty funny.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:07 AM
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That's what she said.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:07 AM
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70: Oops! Forgot the spoiler alert!


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:08 AM
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I've never seen Strangelove either.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:12 AM
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73: So, here's the plan:

1) Watch Dr Strangelove

2) Read Moby Dick

3) Profit!


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:20 AM
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I sold out. I don't need to read anything but analysis plans to profit. I'm probably going to waste ten minutes looking for something new on Netflix before continuing to rewatch Hinterland.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:24 AM
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Ha, was going to cite Strangelove as well, but I don't know if it's canon whether the War Room people actually die.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:29 AM
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76 : presumably most of them make it into the Mineshaft, no?


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:41 AM
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I think the guy riding the bomb down probably died.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:46 AM
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76: I was assuming they lived - that's why I said "just about everyone". I guess that's a fairly high proportion of the characters in the movie, but a very very small percentage of the humans on Earth.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:47 AM
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78: No, he survived and became a superhero.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:50 AM
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It is best not to bother with Moby-Dick, though. It is a bad book, overwritten in the way that so much period literature from the mid 19th century is.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:52 AM
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People had too much free time back then.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:12 AM
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76 : presumably most of them make it into the Mineshaft, no

But how? There's not enough time, surely.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:15 AM
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Don't call me "Surely."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:16 AM
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85

Roger Stone found guilty.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 10:41 AM
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And the Mineshaft hasn't been set up yet, I thought. It's just a plan.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 10:47 AM
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47 There's a new Ibn Battuta translation but more later when I'm no so drunk. Also I've a favorite Ibn Battuta mistranlation story that I'm not sure I've relayed here, but again,. when I'm not so drunk.


Posted by: Barry Freed | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 10:47 AM
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83: the Doomsday Device doesn't blow the whole world up instantly, it just blows up a bit of the Zokov Islands and produces a load of fallout. It would take time for the fallout to reach the US ; quite possibly enough time to get the mjneshafts stocked up.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 12:32 PM
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I mean, all the people in the War Room seem to think it's feasible, and they should know.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 12:33 PM
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90

One of the points of the movie being how wise the people in the war room are.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 12:55 PM
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90: According to 73, you've never seen this movie. We may need to hold hearings to investigate this.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:01 PM
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I've read things about it.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:03 PM
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92: Aha! So you're admitting that 90 is hearsay.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:08 PM
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94

That and sarcasm.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:09 PM
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88: I don't remember if it's ever spelled out, but I always thought that the Doomsday Device started a chain reaction which would eventually result in nuclear explosions all over the earth.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:11 PM
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For fuck's sake, Trump is visiting the UK again?? Why? Why now?

Is he... on the run? There's a spare room at the Ecuadorian embassy if he needs it.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:29 PM
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95: no, it's a very big fusion bomb jacketed in Cobalt Thorium G, which will produce a Doomsday Shroud of fallout encircling the earth for 93 years.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:31 PM
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97: I stand corrected.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 1:38 PM
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Peter Sellers plays three roles, which makes him a better actor than Patty Duke, but a worse one than Mike Meyers.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 2:27 PM
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Isn't the end of the movie lots of mushroom clouds, though? That's how I remember it, although it's been ages. So, the Doomsday Shroud, but many other bombs going off as well, I'd thought.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 2:37 PM
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96: Two days before the election? Does he think Johnson wants his help?


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 2:57 PM
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Oops. "A two-day visit[;] ahead of the election."


Posted by: Minivet | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 2:57 PM
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100: Yes, that's what I remember, and must be the source for the misunderstanding in 95.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 3:03 PM
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I'm so glad we got that sorted out. I don't feel the need to get round to watching the movie now. Also, Moby-Dick is indeed absurdly overwritten but totally worth reading anyway. Also, has a chapter-length cum joke.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 3:10 PM
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Moby Dick is good, but it... uh... could have used some editing. Only the beginning is funny, though.


Posted by: Walt Someguy | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 3:13 PM
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Untrue! The cum joke is in the Indian Ocean somewhere.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 4:04 PM
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107

Final bit of Strangelove trivia: in the film, the Soviets are the first to use nuclear weapons. The missile fired at the B-52 'Leper Colony' is a nuclear-tipped SAM.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 4:07 PM
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108

Ignoring the Doomsday Device (which, after all, they didn't tell anyone about), there's the "conventional" nuclear arsenal of both sides going off.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 4:55 PM
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A triple whammy of dreary data on Thursday began with sharp slowing in Japanese growth to a fraction of forecasts, before China reported the smallest increase in fixed-asset investment in at least two decades. In Europe, Germany posted surprise growth -- but only after a deeper contraction than previously estimated.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:18 PM
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Doesn't China just make up a number anyway?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:23 PM
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Beijing gathers together all the made-up numbers from lower levels of government, subtracts to what it thinks the real number is, then adds a number it made up itself.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:28 PM
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110 doesn't everyone?


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:31 PM
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No.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:34 PM
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I don't you're joking, but seriously, no. In the PRC almost everyone collecting and analyzing stats, and many of the people supplying the raw data, are Party members whose promotions depend strongly on hitting growth targets. GOSPLAN with Chinese characteristics.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:38 PM
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So, "smallest increase" is almost certainly a substantial decline?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:43 PM
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IDK. Im/ex sectors where we have independent stats have shown major slowdowns, but IDR if actual contraction or just (much) slower growth.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:53 PM
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Oh, fixed assets? Some of that would show up in reduced imports, but those presumably would be lagging indicators. But they include the indicators in 116, so yeah maybe. Basically I'm just handwaving here though, so someone with knowledge should talk.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 6:58 PM
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118

Who wants to go out on Saturday and collect newsprint for the War Effort?


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:38 PM
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119

Which war?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:46 PM
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120

Eurasia
Eastasia
Eurasia
Eastasia

Eurasia


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 7:57 PM
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OCEANIA: HANDS OFF EURASIA!


Posted by: Every communist anti-war flyer ever | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:10 PM
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We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:55 PM
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123

Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff!


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 8:59 PM
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"Have you ever seen Dallas from a B-52 at night?"


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 9:39 PM
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125

The cum joke is really long, and not funny. I heard better cum jokes in middle school. Do not read Moby Dick to fill your cum joke needs.


Posted by: Walt Someguy | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 9:51 PM
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126

I can't believe I share a language and substantial cultural background with people who think Moby-Dick is overwritten.


Posted by: lourdes kayak | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 9:55 PM
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127

The cum joke is not really a joke. I mean yes, the word "sperm" is funny, but that's not all it's doing.


Posted by: lourdes kayak | Link to this comment | 11-15-19 9:56 PM
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128

Pray explicate.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 2:35 AM
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129

108: why?


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 3:02 AM
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130

During a summer with only a few English books in France, I read an abridged Moby Dick. I probably had the patience to read the whole thing then. Honestly, the thing that stuck with me was the chowder for breakfast.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 3:52 AM
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"Chowder for breakfast" in Moby Dick is like the "banana breakfast" in Gravity's Rainbow: code for "I didn't finish it, or if I did I don't remember it."


Posted by: DaveLMA | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 7:05 AM
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126 Especially in comparison to the fucking Bible, for Christ's sake.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 7:44 AM
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133

Maybe I'll read an abridged version. I read an abridged "Tale of Two Cities" and really liked it despite never being able to read Dickens in the original form.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 7:52 AM
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134

I just don't have the kind of free time that Roger Stone is going to have.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 7:54 AM
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135

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUmHlTws8zY

Just like there's always a Trump tweet, there's always a Rowan song.

I've probably linked this one before: https://archive.org/details/sci1999-04-27.shnf/sci99-04-27d2/sci99-04-27d2t04.shn

This is from the same concert: https://archive.org/details/sci1999-04-27.shnf/sci99-04-27d2/sci99-04-27d2t02.shn if you folks are in the mood for some of that reggaebilly.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 8:22 AM
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128:

Come; let us squeeze hands all round; nay, let us all squeeze ourselves into each other; let us squeeze ourselves universally into the very milk and sperm of kindness.

Yes, it's a joke about masturbation and homoeroticism on ships, but precisely because it goes on so long (and employs rhetoric that some find overwritten) at some point it stops being such a joke and turns into an actual evocation of New Testament love and fellowship, a rare respite from the generally grim ambiance of Old Testament vengeance.


Posted by: lourdes kayak | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 10:04 AM
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In conclusion, everybody STFU and read Moby-Dick. Also, has somebody recut it entirely as a play?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 10:28 AM
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It has to be over-written. The plot summary on Wikipedia is longer than the one for Infinite Jests.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 10:44 AM
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I feel for some reason you in particular bear a certain obligation.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 10:57 AM
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Because of my past killing whales.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 11:19 AM
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Anyway, the former commenter who suggested the pseud got all threatening and banned.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 11:24 AM
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Was that a threat?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:08 PM
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No. Just remembering where my pseud came from brought it to mind.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:13 PM
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She didn't get banned for anything that had to do with me either.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:14 PM
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Hmph. We'll see in the grand jury testimony.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:17 PM
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I'm not reading a novel, but if I got angry at every time somebody asked me to read something that there was no way I was going to read it, I'd have an unhappy life.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:19 PM
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Anyway, isn't this the level of play we expect from a winning campaign: https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1195777715544166401


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:32 PM
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file 144 under things I missed I guess.


Posted by: soup biscuit | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 12:55 PM
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147: I've been feeling better and better about Warren.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 1:00 PM
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http://www.emojidick.com


Posted by: OPINIONATED JAPANESE WHALE | Link to this comment | 11-16-19 2:42 PM
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So, is Trump having a health issue or did he get a Fox News commentator too far up his butt to get out without medical assistance? Sean Hannity is the base, but not a flared base.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 12:04 PM
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The spokespeople are saying so much about how healthy he is, but it's really not as convincing as swimming across the Yangtze.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 12:06 PM
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I've wondered if he was going to hate himself to death.


Posted by: fake accent | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 12:57 PM
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I had a personal project to read the Bible around the time I was in college or maybe just after I graduated. I think I got as far as Chronicles, definitely read to Samuel and Kings.

My interest came out of having taken some classes in medieval and early modern European history, and I spent a lot of time looking at editions and translations, ultimately settling on a Douay-Reims (Challoner Revision). I may have finished the whole thing if I'd just read the KJV lying around at home instead of doing textual research.


Posted by: fake accent | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 1:08 PM
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I don't you're joking, but seriously, no.

I won't, but I could name several countries I have strong suspicions/third hand knowledge about with respect to maintaining dubious GDP figures.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 3:26 PM
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Sean Hannity is the base, but not a flared base.

I laughed.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 3:57 PM
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155: First world countries? OECD members? EU members? Established democracies? To be clear, I don't doubt for a second lots of countries cook the books, but I read the comment I responded to as implying they're all equally bad, and specifically that the PRC isn't abnormal among major economies. I think both those claims are false.


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 5:50 PM
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First world countries? OECD members? EU members? Established democracies?

No, not those.


Posted by: Spike | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 5:55 PM
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Why did Trump put 'cash' in quotation marks when he tweeted about how he's going to help farmers?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 5:55 PM
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Was it a Trump tweet or a staffer tweet?


Posted by: Mossy Character | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 6:42 PM
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I think he fired all the staffers who weren't fucked up anyway.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 11-17-19 7:07 PM
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