Factors in the Democrat's favor this year: a disastrous economy, an unpopular war, an incumbent president with a 30% approval rating, far more money and better organization than the other side, a candidate who is charismatic, smart, accomplished and eloquent, an opponent who is old, out of touch, disliked by a large portion of his own party and a Washington insider when people want change.

Factors in the Republican's favor this year: the Democratic candidate is black.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 8:31 AM on September 15, 2008

"The fundamentals of our economy our strong."

-John McCain.

"I'm going to be honest. I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated."

--John McCain, Wall Street Journal, 2005
posted to MetaFilter by Fuzzy Monster at 9:01 AM on September 15, 2008

Man this story has legs. I keep wondering if I'm going to get in trouble for this...
posted to MetaFilter by asavage at 12:31 AM on August 31, 2008

More like Room With a Trying to Look Like McSweeney's.
posted to MetaFilter by katillathehun at 3:31 PM on August 16, 2008

...the fact that a bunch of "cavemen" managed to fly planes into buildings...will sound to some like the ramblings of a madman.

Sounds more to me like the ramblings of a racist.
posted to MetaFilter by Banky_Edwards at 5:21 PM on August 12, 2008

>>You can trust your readers to know that terrible is terrible

I used to think that. But I've seen enough "jokes" about horrific things like rape, even on "enlightened" MeFi, to alter that mindset. And of course, the backlash, ranging from "lighten up, Francis" to "LOLZ, sort out your own personal problems" when I've dared to suggest that there's nothing funny about such stuff.

I'm not sure if... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by SaintCynr at 1:08 PM on August 11, 2008

See also, recent news about pipeline fires and sabotage in the region.

At this point, I humbly suggest that all fpp's about conflicts in this region be accompanied by pipeline maps or oil field maps. We all know these conflicts are about energy, but the conflicts are going to be spun in the media and by governments as ethnic conflicts or battles for political (rather than economic) independence solely to agitate the local people to action and to keep the corporate and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 8:36 AM on August 8, 2008

The first line of the plagiarised version reads better than the original ("this past ...", ugh). That has to sting. It's like burglars leaving your flat tidier than it was.
posted to MetaFilter by shmegegge at 1:17 PM on August 7, 2008

Or, as a gentleman from the slashdot thread says:

"All of those people should go on the no fly list"
posted to MetaFilter by Lord_Pall at 12:00 PM on August 5, 2008

Something wonderful.
posted to MetaFilter by hal9k at 4:47 PM on August 3, 2008

It was a hot summer in Iowa City. Neal Stephenson had a regular job, and yet had a hunch that writing might be for him. He had written a "query" -- a plot summary, the outline of a book, biographies of characters, and a few sample chapters -- and started to send them to editors, which he picked at random from trade directories. Many rejection letters followed. Finally, one editor wrote that he was intrigued by the outline and the sample chapter and asked for the rest of the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Astro Zombie at 9:38 AM on August 3, 2008

she all but winks at the camera to signify that she knows he won't mind at all. And the rest indicates a conflict as well

HI I'M ON METAFILTER AND I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THOSE BEANS ARE TOUCHING EACH OTHER.
posted to MetaFilter by felix betachat at 6:23 PM on August 2, 2008

If it kills us all because we're living in a false vacuum, then death with arrive with a vacuum wave that destroys the universe as we know it at the speed of light. No warning.

On the upside, the possibility of a 'vacuum metastability event' led to what I consider the most awesome paragraph ever published in a scientific journal:

"The possibility that we are living in a false vacuum has never been a cheering one to contemplate.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Jairus at 12:48 PM on August 2, 2008

A very impressive comment, if you're an undergraduate philosophy major impressed by late-night college bull sessions.
posted to MetaTalk by orthogonality at 6:37 AM on August 2, 2008

I‘m sipping a scummy pint of cloudy beer in the back of a trendy dive bar turned nightclub in the heart of the city’s heroin district.

What club, on what street, in what city? I want to call bullshit on this guy so bad my dick hurts, but I can't even. Why is he intentionally obfuscating these kinds of identifying details throughout the whole article? I mean, come on: Standing outside an art-party next to a neat row of locked-up fixed-gear... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by The Straightener at 7:11 AM on August 1, 2008

New Interest in Vertical Farms for Urban Areas
posted to MetaFilter by kliuless at 11:24 AM on July 16, 2008

what "Brimful of Asha" is all about.
posted to MetaTalk by UbuRoivas at 3:31 PM on July 12, 2008

Sir Richard of ... Tissington Hall, ... heavily in debt having borrowed "a hell of a lot" to convert an old stable block into a small private school that has now closed for want of pupils. ...
"Ideally, I'd like to put a marquee up in the garden for half the year," Fitzherbert says.

"But to put up a marquee I need planning permission, which won't be easy. And getting permission to convert disused farm buildings - into holiday... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jacalata at 7:07 AM on July 8, 2008

On the other hand, to break that collection up and sell it probably will mean that some of the major works (the handful of pieces that are really significant examples of the artist's work, say, or really outstanding period furniture) will become more accessible to more people by way of ending up scattered throughout museums around the world. Others will disappear into private collections and be essentially lost to public knowledge.

Um...the artwork is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jb at 2:16 PM on July 8, 2008

This actually makes alot of sense, when you consider that the main goal of Fox News (and other righty media outlets) is to destroy news itself.

See, for a long time, journalism was an extremely important, respected profession. Not always of course (see Yellow Journalism in America 1776-1914), but I think its safe to say that for the latter half of the 20th century, journalism was understood as a means of providing the facts about the world around us to the American... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Avenger at 9:19 AM on July 3, 2008

I was going to master this system no matter how long it took.

Any system that allows easy access is probably infested with viruses anyway.
posted to MetaTalk by empath at 8:53 AM on June 28, 2008

A better idea:
1. Don't breed.
2. Steal the children of the people you find the most disagreeable, train them by night, and return them.
3. Repeat.
posted to MetaFilter by crazylegs at 11:43 AM on June 16, 2008

In a hundred years, when historians are studying the fall of the American empire, the words of Gore Vidal will be cited as some of the most important material actually written during the darkest period of early part of the transition. His brutal honesty, integrity and insights live outside of the vast propaganda machine which has claimed the minds and souls of the vast majority of consumers - not citizens - of the U.S. Snark all you want, folks, the handwriting is on the wall, and Vidal's words... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dbiedny at 2:38 PM on June 15, 2008

We know that John McCain spent five and a half years in the custody of the North Vietnamese, but do we really know exactly how his time was spent while there? It's obvious from the public record that he returned a changed man, promptly abandoning his devoted wife after her injury and disfigurement in an automobile accident, and marrying a much wealthier woman whose family fortune allowed him to jump-start his political career. Now, it goes without saying that I would never insinuate that a hero... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Faint of Butt at 9:42 AM on June 16, 2008

John McCain is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.
posted to MetaFilter by kirkaracha at 10:19 AM on June 16, 2008

The message I get from Chicago: MEAT IS DELICIOUS.
posted to MetaFilter by sparkletone at 11:02 PM on June 2, 2008

There is the matter of consent, which puts crimes like Fritzl's in a totally different moral class than fantasies which exist inside people's heads (or on a piece of paper). No matter how much the cultural elite would like it not to be so.

dykecker, you're being far too literal in your interpretation of this. Spice is talking about literature, and the representation of women, and is not trying to construct a moral equivalence between the Sun Page 3... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jokeefe at 1:43 PM on June 8, 2008

Let me know when I can "rip" the books I already own on to my eBook reader. That's when it will take off.
posted to MetaFilter by blue_beetle at 7:50 AM on May 25, 2008

LGFs' fear is real and legitimate.

You have to take into account the level of sheltering these people require from LGF and other websites like Free Republic. These sites work in part because they allow a level of anonymity for their members but there is more to it than that...

Structurally these sites are designed (like almost all blogs and message boards) to expire topics and discussion threads. Oh, these threads are still there in most cases,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by wfrgms at 8:26 AM on May 18, 2008

█
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 3:36 PM on March 18, 2008

Pardon me for not joining in your reactionary group-think, MetaWhiner - but I honestly don't see what the problem with this is. All but one of these kids look really happy to be portrayed in this way.
posted to MetaFilter by the quidnunc kid at 3:19 PM on March 6, 2008

When I was in university, a friend of mine we'll call John Smith tried to pick up a girl at a bar within earshot of a few of us. This is how it went down:

J.S.: "Smith. John Smith." *smiles, extends hand*
Girl: "Off. Fuck off."
posted to MetaFilter by The Card Cheat at 11:32 AM on March 3, 2008

Ratzinger athiest?
No way...I'm way athier than he is.
posted to MetaFilter by rocket88 at 11:41 AM on January 31, 2008

Everybody needs a shrug.
posted to MetaTalk by fandango_matt at 1:47 PM on January 23, 2008

zoomorphic: Sure, sure. Unfortunately, there are specific aspects to our relationship that come to light when Iimplicitly identify myself as a non-member of his community: he's a small business guy who's working as a part of a larger communal network of landlords who own property in this area, make repairs on the same buildings, and rent to white kids rather than Hispanics. Anyone in Brooklyn would immediately apprehend why he won't take checks, not mention why a jury might unfairly... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by koeselitz at 4:34 PM on January 17, 2008

na na na na na na na na BAT-MAN, I mean LEA-DER
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 12:21 PM on January 15, 2008

15 things I've learned in 28 years:

1. Spinach isn't as bad as I thought it was. It's not great, but it'll do in a pinch.

2. Roll the condom on, don't unroll it and THEN try to put it on.

3. Even the most chill and open-minded girlfriend doesn't think that farts are cute unless a baby's doing it.

4. Dogs eat their own shit and vomit and will often try to lick your face immediately afterward.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by shmegegge at 12:34 PM on January 9, 2008

Until the ebook:
Allows me to take notes in the margins
and
Will not malfunction if I accidentally drop it in the bathtub
I'll be sticking with the conventional model.
posted to MetaFilter by thivaia at 6:54 AM on January 9, 2008

You know, if I were putting out a newsletter with my fucking name on the masthead, I sure as all hell would bother reading it every once in a while. If Paul really didn't approve of the paper's content, then he's lazy, careless, and stupid - three more attributes to add to the list of reasons why supporting him is a bad and dangerous idea.
posted to MetaFilter by Item at 1:30 PM on January 8, 2008

This is a total hatchet job! It reminds me of something that happened to me just the other day. I was in the contentious banana pudding thread that we had recently here on Metafilter, and I was all like "I hate banana pudding. I have always hated it and I will always hate it!" and some liar came in there and did a hatchet job on me saying "Oh yeah ND¢? What about this quote I found in your user history:

OMG i total luv banana pudding lollercopter!!!... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 1:52 PM on January 8, 2008

I understand Dr. Paul's frustration.

For many years there was a publication making the rounds that I haphazardly lent my name to. I did it because they told me I would get 20% off Ben & Jerry coupons.

The publication was called The TKChirst Evening Sun Gazette Intelligencer Standard. Which seemed harmless enough.

But the tag line "The Jews Are Trying to Eat Our Babies!" had me... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by tkchrist at 3:09 PM on January 8, 2008

The recent Hitchhiker's Guide is a classic example. They threw out most of the original dialogue, which was great, and replaced it with crap. Sometimes they kept setups and threw out punchlines (the Vogon poetry scene, for example). They gave Arthur a Hollywood-type character arc--learning to be confident and assertive in order to impress the girl, etc., etc.--and didn't even follow it consistently: not 5 seconds after the scene in which he finally stands up to the bully, he's reduced to a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by equalpants at 5:54 AM on January 8, 2008

they do if your 3 year old dumps a tube of toothpaste on them

Please tell me that after this, you changed the cat's name to Macavity.
posted to MetaFilter by FelliniBlank at 6:28 AM on January 8, 2008

Texas is awful and should be nuked from sapce

It's the only way to be srue
posted to MetaTalk by cortex at 1:31 PM on January 4, 2008

malphigian writes "A 2005 Gallup Poll shows 41% of people believing in ESP, 31% in telepathy, 25% in astrology, 21% in talking to the dead."

79% of people don't believe you can talk to the dead? Talking to the dead is easy. Getting a response is the unbelievable part.
posted to MetaFilter by Mitheral at 8:40 AM on January 4, 2008

"Just because pious radicals think we all have agency and responsibility doesn't make it true. I don't have any impact at all on the laws, neither does my morality. Political nihilism is the only tenable position, from my point of view.

Yes, laws are made with morality in mind. It is the morality of the people with power and money."

As for the second part, that the laws often reflect the morality of people with power and money, I agree... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 3:48 PM on January 3, 2008

I just checked the Free Will By-Laws. Turns out, you're allowed to bitch about anything you want. Huh.
posted to MetaFilter by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:09 PM on December 18, 2007

Ah, barreled fish. Delicious!
posted to MetaFilter by everichon at 1:26 PM on December 9, 2007

I'm actually of the opinion that everyone should be a hypocrite, although I am not one myself.
posted to MetaFilter by Astro Zombie at 1:25 PM on December 9, 2007

Oh: In the interest of full disclosure, I also think that this entire thread is the classic navel-gazing, mastubatory, hypersensitive, tempest in a teapot that MeTa appears to thrive on. I mean, on every side of the fence.

And, for that matter, how a plate-of-beans callout about boyzonefilter became something of a referendum on the sexist flag is mysterious to me. As if, in the absence of this new flag, this call-out would not have happened?

Yes,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by absalom at 5:25 PM on December 5, 2007