Got a crazy forwarded political email from your family? Post them here.

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VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

What, the constitutional amendment regarding congressional raises didn't adequately address this?

# ? Feb 18, 2015 01:58

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# ? May 10, 2024 08:44

Ghost of Reagan Past: Oct 7, 2003; rock and roll fun

VideoTapir posted:

What, the constitutional amendment regarding congressional raises didn't adequately address this?

Kyrsten Sinema is a Democratic congressperson from Phoenix. I imagine it's partially because she's appealing to Arizona voters, and this is the kind of low-effort thing that gets Arizonans going (she's also not that liberal, which helps in Phoenix).

It's just appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Ghost of Reagan Past fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Feb 18, 2015

# ? Feb 18, 2015 02:30

Dr. Arbitrary: Mar 15, 2006; Bleak Gremlin

Ghost of Reagan Past posted:

Kyrsten Sinema is a Democratic congressperson from Phoenix. I imagine it's partially because she's appealing to Arizona voters, and this is the kind of low-effort thing that gets Arizonans going (she's also not that liberal, which helps in Phoenix).

It's just appealing to the lowest common denominator.

Honestly, I think she's pretty far left deep down , but you don't get elected to the Senate as a Prada Socialist.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 03:04

ToxicSlurpee: Nov 5, 2003; -=SEND HELP=-; Pillbug

Edminster posted:

Desertion was totally a thing, though? In the chapter covering basic training Juan Rico relates the incident where a deserter was captured after murdering a little girl, and how rather than fob him off on local law enforcement he was brought back for court martialing and punishment.

But yeah, the book isn't quite as military knob-slobbering as it's commonly portrayed; it was just constrained by the fact that Heinlein wanted it to be fundamentally an argument against dismantling our nuclear capabilities.

If memory serves that was a case where the guy had never actually quit his enlistment, he just hosed off. As he was still technically a soldier he was under the military's jurisdiction. They didn't care much that he screwed off but rather that he murdered somebody. At the same time he really could have just went "meh, I'm done" and walked off the base any time he wanted. That scene actually kind of confused me, really, because sneaking out was largely unnecessary. Heinlein made it a point to say that you could quit whenever you felt like it for whatever reason, who cares.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 03:24

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

Doctor Butts posted:

Check out the absurdity of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

What do you mean, didn't you see their report findings?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6d9ev5i6Y

:smithicide:

# ? Feb 18, 2015 04:26

RC and Moon Pie: May 5, 2011

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

quote:

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady that she should bring her own grocery bags, because plastic bags are not good for the environment.
The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days."

The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."

The older lady said that she was right -- our generation didn't have the "green thing" in its day. The older lady went on to explain:
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.

Grocery stores bagged our groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for numerous things. Most memorable besides household garbage bags was the use of brown paper bags as book covers for our school books. This was to ensure that public property (the books provided for our use by the school) was not defaced by our scribblings. Then we were able to personalize our books on the brown paper bags. But, too bad we didn't do the "green thing" back then.
We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day.

Back then we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts. Wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day.
Back then we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana. In the kitchen we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blade in a r azor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the "green thing" back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service in the family's $45,000 SUV or van, which cost what a whole house did before the"green thing." We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 23,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest burger joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the "green thing" back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smart rear end young person.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off... Especially from a tattooed, multiple pierced smartass who can't make change without the cash register telling them how much.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 04:42

ErIog: Jul 11, 2001

That one's a classic. I don't remember it having so much narrative wrapped around it before, but I could be misremembering.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 04:52

CaptainCarrot: Jun 9, 2010

VideoTapir posted:

What, the constitutional amendment regarding congressional raises didn't adequately address this?

No, because cost of living is part of congressional salaries, and increasing that bypasses the amendment. Not that it matters, since paying Congress more makes it that little bit more doable for people who aren't wealthy to run.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 04:59

Medicinal Penguin: May 19, 2006

They may have filled the atmosphere with lead, polluted rivers to the point that the CAUGHT ON FIRE, and ripped a huge hole in the ozone layer, but it's far more important that they reused that razor blade and those diapers.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 05:28

Mellow Seas: Oct 9, 2012; Can't post for 10 years!

We used brown paper bags to cover our books and totally lots of other things such as

# ? Feb 18, 2015 05:37

TerminalSaint: Apr 21, 2007; Where must we go...

we who wander this Wasteland in search of our better selves?

I'd be curious to see a comparison of the power usage of that ancient TV vs a modern LED screen.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 05:42

Teriyaki Hairpiece: Dec 29, 2006; I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

derra posted:

If Lincoln had suspended Habeas Corpus in times of peace, or in any conflict against a foreign power, I'd certainly agree with you, and it is definitely one of the most controversial acts of his administration, but seeing as there was open insurrection against the Federal government the issue does become a little gray. Refresh my memory: did he defy the Supreme Court on any other occasion other than Habeas Corpus. In his own words, "are all the laws but one to go unexpected and the Government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated?"

I find it very hard to rationalize Lincoln as a military dictator. You do know that elections continued to be held during the war, even though Lincoln thought he would lose (and drafted a letter to that effect)? That he often reigned in generals who he thought exceeded their authority?

I also find it hard to blame him for the deaths of his own civilians. Most of the Confederacy seceeded before his inauguration, and by all accounts they shot first. If there was a peaceful way to have them reintegrate, especially before aboliton became an explicit war aim, I'm certain he would have been all over it.

I agree that Lincoln did things that would be unacceptable during times of peace and other presidents should not directly emulate in normal circumstances. After 9-11, the citing of Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus as precedent was disgusting to me. Maybe they were not necessary during the Civil War either. But calling him a military dictator or the worst president or singling him out for "killing his own citizens" is disingenuous.

And yes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs was not well managed under Lincoln. I don't want to ignore that.

Constitutional rights aren't a "break glass in case of" kind of thing. Also his administration's own stance was that it was not actually a time of war, because the CSA was not a sovereign nation. There was no declaration of war on the Confederate States of America. The actions of Lincoln exist in a space where there was no official war. Sound like a bunch of other horrible Presidential actions to you?

A lot of the elections held during the war were a drat joke.

Also I was really, really, really clear that I'm happy with the end result of the country being held together and slavery being ended. I even said I was happy that members of my family died to end slavery and indirectly said I'd be okay with my ancestor dying in that cause. Which of course would mean I wouldn't exist right now. You can't be more supportive of a cause than saying you'd be okay with not existing in service of it.

"Worst President Ever" is a title usually applied to them that people disagree with politically. I'm saying I agree with the man politically but I am disgusted by his specific actions and the actions of his administration. I think they laid the groundwork for some bad poo poo. And I'm not even a loving libertarian in any way shape or form. I just think he overstepped his bounds and murdered a ton of people and that will always, always, always be wrong.

A Fancy 400 lbs posted:

The US Constitution says �The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it�.

Good to know we have a Supreme Court that interprets the Constitution, then makes binding decisions based on their interpretations that we aren't supposed to ignore. Good thing, right?

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:04

Mo_Steel: Mar 7, 2008; Let's Clock Into The Sunset Together; Fun Shoe

RC and Moon Pie posted:

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDcbO2bRxhg

:colbert:

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:05

Dr. Arbitrary: Mar 15, 2006; Bleak Gremlin

Medicinal Penguin posted:

They may have filled the atmosphere with lead, polluted rivers to the point that the CAUGHT ON FIRE, and ripped a huge hole in the ozone layer, but it's far more important that they reused that razor blade and those diapers.

The funny thing is that I think that safety razors and cloth diapers are on their way back. It's just that it requires some skills and investment to get started. How can you blame your son for not knowing how to use a double edged safety razor when the first razor you bought him was a disposable triple edge razor.

Dr. Arbitrary fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Feb 18, 2015

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:10

VitalSigns: Sep 3, 2011; Can't post for 3 days!

RC and Moon Pie posted:

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

Uh shouldn't she be happy to be offered the chance to go back to reusable bags then?

cheerfullydrab posted:

Constitutional rights aren't a "break glass in case of" kind of thing. Also his administration's own stance was that it was not actually a time of war, because the CSA was not a sovereign nation. There was no declaration of war on the Confederate States of America. The actions of Lincoln exist in a space where there was no official war.

The Constitution posted:

he Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

cheerfullydrab posted:

Good to know we have a Supreme Court that interprets the Constitution, then makes binding decisions based on their interpretations that we aren't supposed to ignore. Good thing, right?

Are you saying Lincoln should have deferred to Taney and his loving Dred Scott Supreme Court?

VitalSigns fucked around with this message at 06:33 on Feb 18, 2015

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:30

Venom Snake: Feb 19, 2014; by Nyc_Tattoo

Considering how utterly hellbent on war the CSA was anyone who thinks Lincoln is responsible for the deaths during the Civil War is on the level of those who still unironically call it the "War of Northern Aggression".

In conclusion:

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:50

Teriyaki Hairpiece: Dec 29, 2006; I'm nae the voice o' the darkened thistle, but th' darkened thistle cannae bear the sight o' our Bonnie Prince Bernie nae mair.

VitalSigns posted:

Are you saying Lincoln should have deferred to Taney and his loving Dred Scott Supreme Court?

Yes, that's actually what I'm saying.

*coughs up a little blood, quickly wipes it away*

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:53

seiferguy: Jun 9, 2005; FLAWED
INTUITION; Toilet Rascal

TerminalSaint posted:

I'd be curious to see a comparison of the power usage of that ancient TV vs a modern LED screen.

LEDs use a quarter of the consumption of a CRT TV of the same size, so I'd have to imagine one of the first TVs were pretty lovely when it came to power consumption.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 06:58

Dr. Arbitrary: Mar 15, 2006; Bleak Gremlin

seiferguy posted:

LEDs use a quarter of the consumption of a CRT TV of the same size, so I'd have to imagine one of the first TVs were pretty lovely when it came to power consumption.

I have a tiny tabletop electron-tube radio that's 27 watts. That's around the same power consumption of a 21 inch LED tv.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 07:07

flu-like symptoms: Jul 27, 2006; shiny

RC and Moon Pie posted:

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

I wonder where these things originate. They seem like they're all written by the same person or at least by people working off of the same style sheets

# ? Feb 18, 2015 08:08

Scruff McGruff: Feb 13, 2007; Jesus, kid, you're almost a detective. All you need now is a gun, a gut, and three ex-wives.

She also had one that was an image macro about how "we cannot allow Americans to join ISIS and then return home to spread Jihad in the US!"

# ? Feb 18, 2015 15:35

AFewBricksShy: Jun 19, 2003; of a full load.

RC and Moon Pie posted:

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

Every single one of the bad things in that email were started by the baby boomer generation.

Gen X and the Millenials were raised by the people being criticized in that email, yet I'd be willing to bet that the person who posted it is firmly in the baby boomer generation.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 15:52

Eggplant Squire: Aug 14, 2003

One of my favorite "WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE..." canards is parents doing a generally lovely job raising their kids, then complaining the kids are at fault afterwards.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 16:29

xergm: Sep 8, 2009; The Moon is for Sissies!

AFewBricksShy posted:

Every single one of the bad things in that email were started by the baby boomer generation.

Gen X and the Millenials were raised by the people being criticized in that email, yet I'd be willing to bet that the person who posted it is firmly in the baby boomer generation.

I think the best part is that life is far easier and more convenient according to her comparison, so what's the excuse for not keeping it up? OK, you used to recycle all that glass and paper, so why can't you be bothered to bring back the plastic bags for recycling? Why do you vote against every form of funding for public infrastructure, so that we can take advantage of public transit too?

The whole argument seems to be, "Yeah I used to do that because it was the norm, but now I've bought into disposable culture the same as everyone else. I don't give a gently caress anymore, and no one else should either."

# ? Feb 18, 2015 16:48

Ashcans: Jan 2, 2006; Let's do the space-time warp again!

RC and Moon Pie posted:

One of the sweetest people I used to work with was barely active on Facebook for years. Suddenly, she's on in full force, posting recipes, animal memes, other harmless inspirational things. Then came this today and I realized that it's too late. She actually believes this tripe.

"How dare you live according to the standards and conventions of the world I created! Why don't you put everything back to the way it was when I was young, before I changed it all!!" :argh:

Grandma, I didn't tear up the streetcars and people have been drinking bottled water and using plastic soda bottles for as long as I have been alive. You want to bitch about this, great, go talk to your friends and your kids who hosed it up. I'm just playing the hand you dealt me.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 16:57

Faustian Bargain: Apr 12, 2014

quote:

We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine burning up 220 volts

My volts

(no one is stopping you from continuing to do this)

quote:

And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

Yeah that sounds awesome :jerkbag:

# ? Feb 18, 2015 17:56

xergm: Sep 8, 2009; The Moon is for Sissies!

quote:

And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.

You know, I'd like to know how well those old TVs stack against a modern one in terms of power consumption. Of course the electron gun of a CRT uses much more power than the modern equivalent, but I'd love how much more efficient a Montana sized LED TV is than that dinky black and white TV.

Just shows how behind the times they are when they don't realize that just as we've advanced technology in terms of image size, we've also made leaps and bounds in efficiency. Then again, this hypothetical woman is probably the same one bellyaching about incandescent bulbs being phased out.

Edit:

Did some digging around and at least found that a good number of old sets can pull anywhere from 200-400W. Modern, larger TVs usually run closer to 100W for an LED TV. That's nuts.

xergm fucked around with this message at 18:49 on Feb 18, 2015

# ? Feb 18, 2015 18:32

Duke Igthorn: Oct 11, 2012; by FactsAreUseless

quote:

We walked up stairs because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building

Yes grandaughter, why DID you make elevator technology so common and universal 40 years ago??

# ? Feb 18, 2015 18:51

VitalSigns: Sep 3, 2011; Can't post for 3 days!

"You drat kids and your modern conveniences, you're all lazy and wasteful, we need to go back to how we did things in my day!"

"Good idea, here's a resuable bag, mind bringing those to the store instead of relying on plastic?"
:bahgawd:

"B...but that's so inconvenient. I paid my dues now it's my turn to enjoy all the great modern conveniences of using an indestructible bag to carry two things from the car then throwing it away"

# ? Feb 18, 2015 19:00

A Fancy 400 lbs: Jul 24, 2008

xergm posted:

You know, I'd like to know how well those old TVs stack against a modern one in terms of power consumption. Of course the electron gun of a CRT uses much more power than the modern equivalent, but I'd love how much more efficient a Montana sized LED TV is than that dinky black and white TV.

Just shows how behind the times they are when they don't realize that just as we've advanced technology in terms of image size, we've also made leaps and bounds in efficiency. Then again, this hypothetical woman is probably the same one bellyaching about incandescent bulbs being phased out.

Edit:

Did some digging around and at least found that a good number of old sets can pull anywhere from 200-400W. Modern, larger TVs usually run closer to 100W for an LED TV. That's nuts.

Well yeah, but what if it's LITERALLY 147k sqmi? What then?

# ? Feb 18, 2015 19:13

xergm: Sep 8, 2009; The Moon is for Sissies!

Astronauts deserve some time in front of the tube too.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 19:21

Lemniscate Blue: Apr 21, 2006; Here we go again.

Nitpicky, but to do a real comparison between TVs you'd have to take into account the power and resource consumption in the manufacturing process too. Externalities and all that.

I bet the modern flat-panel would still come out ahead, but it'd be an interesting comparison.

Edminster posted:

My go-to example for 'heinlein was hosed-up re: sex' is the ending of Have Space Suit, Will Travel where the 18 year old main character is romantically paired off with a like 11 year old girl at the insistence of her father.

You need a new one then, because I just pulled that book off my shelf and the kid's father was pretty clearly talking about her having a friend closer to her own age and intelligence. Romance never entered into it unless you're reading it really differently than me.

That's not to say Heinlein's views on sex weren't massively hosed up, just that book is okay on the topic.

Lemniscate Blue fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Feb 18, 2015

# ? Feb 18, 2015 19:36

Bushiz: Sep 21, 2004; The #1 Threat to Ba Sing Se; Grimey Drawer

Zeitgueist posted:

Number of the Beast was the Heinlein i couldn't get through

It was originally, like, three times as long but the rest was even more obvious mary sue fanfiction and the publisher refused to print it because it was the largest pile of copyright infringment in the world

# ? Feb 18, 2015 19:56

Guavanaut: Nov 27, 2009; Looking At Them Tittys
1969 - 1998; Toilet Rascal

BatteredFeltFedora posted:

Nitpicky, but to do a real comparison between TVs you'd have to take into account the power and resource consumption in the manufacturing process too. Externalities and all that.

I bet the modern flat-panel would still come out ahead, but it'd be an interesting comparison.

Definitely, when averaged over the number produced, and including the power and resource consumption of the number of people involved at work (externalities of externalities).

Vacuum tubes are very labor intensive to produce, cathode ray tubes even moreso, and manufacturing methods and productivity enhancement were worse in the 40s.

Not directly TV related, but here's how radio frequency crystals were made in the 40s, look at the number of steps and employees involved (or just look anyway, it's a cool documentary if you like that kind of thing).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b--FKHCFjOM

Now, a synthetic quartz boule would be grown and most of the steps would be automated, and the crystal itself would be tiny.

And that's for a component that has changed relatively little in function between then and now, unlike for example the complete replacement of vacuum tubes (assembled like lightbulbs) by transistors (assembled by etching and doping).

# ? Feb 18, 2015 22:03

Scruff McGruff: Feb 13, 2007; Jesus, kid, you're almost a detective. All you need now is a gun, a gut, and three ex-wives.

A follow up to my earlier post.

I'm impressed at all the people telling the OP she's wrong. Usually her facebook is full of "OH YEAH, AMERICA, NOBAMA NOT MY PRESIDENT!" whenever she posts stuff.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 22:37

musclecoder: Oct 23, 2006; I'm all about meeting girls. I'm all about meeting guys.

In what world can you start a business and legally not pay taxes (well, unless you're a mega-corporation). Like, I can't even fathom the mind that just automatically believes that.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 22:46

borkencode: Nov 10, 2004

# ? Feb 18, 2015 23:04

Crain: Jun 27, 2007; I had a beer once with Stephen Miller and now I like him.

I also tried to ban someone from a Discord for pointing out what an unrelenting shithead I am! I'm even dumb enough to think it worked!

I've seen like 4-5 videos like this linked from reddit today on FB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82xLp2SFRxc

I guess it's a thing. They all have that music and random shouts of "allahhu akbar".

# ? Feb 18, 2015 23:10

Rick_Hunter: Jan 5, 2004; My guys are still fighting the hard fight!
(weapons, shields and drones are still online!)

Crain posted:

I've seen like 4-5 videos like this linked from reddit today on FB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82xLp2SFRxc

I guess it's a thing. They all have that music and random shouts of "allahhu akbar".

Sounds like the audio from when those syrian rebels kept sliding grenades down that immobilized Syrian Army's tank's barrel.

# ? Feb 18, 2015 23:52