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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Open Thread: Go Seastead Yourself, Thiel

Open Thread: Go Seastead Yourself, Thiel

by Anne Laurie|  March 28, 20159:19 pm| 131 Comments

This post is in: Election 2016, Glibertarianism, Open Threads, Assholes

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Along with his residual fondness for Ron Paul’s kid, world’s loudest Libertarian Peter Thiel is a Ted Cruz admirer, per McKay Coppins at Buzzfeed:

… The question of Thiel’s loyalties looms large in the Republicans’ heated 2016 fundraising race. The gay, libertarian tech tycoon has funneled millions of dollars in recent years to a diverse array of causes and campaigns, from marriage equality advocacy groups to insurgent Tea Party candidates. In an era when a single motivated billionaire can prop up a presidential candidate all on his own, Thiel’s endorsement would be a major coup for any campaign. But only two contenders in the emerging GOP field can claim an inside track to the billionaire’s cash: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Thiel’s ties to Paul, who is expected to announce his presidential campaign early next month, are well established. During the 2012 election, Thiel gave $2.6 million to a super PAC supporting Rand’s father, Ron Paul — an eccentric libertarian protest candidate with a narrow but devoted grassroots following. And since then, he has reportedly been an ally and adviser to the younger Paul, opening doors for the senator in Silicon Valley, connecting him with donors and tech operatives, and meeting privately with him as recently as last summer…

Less well known, however, is Thiel’s longtime support for Cruz, who announced his presidential candidacy this week. In 2009, Thiel contributed $251,000 to support the star litigator’s bid for Texas attorney general. Cruz eventually aborted the campaign, but the billionaire’s donations made up one-fifth of his entire campaign war chest. When he then ran for Senate in 2012, Thiel plowed $1 million into Club for Growth, the conservative pressure group that heavily funded Cruz’s primary bid.

Asked about Cruz last September, Thiel told The Daily Caller, “Well I think he’s very smart. I think one of the challenges we have in the Republican Party is… our representatives, our senators, are somewhat lower IQ than the people on the other side. So, I think there is something to be said for getting some really smart people in there.”…

And while Thiel expressed doubts to Beck that the outcome of the 2016 race could possibly stave off an impending economic crisis, he has sounded more broadly fatalistic about the political process as well.

“I’m sort of skeptical of how much voting actually works in the first place,” Thiel said in 2012. “I used to think that it was really important to directly change the political system, to convince people of things. I still think it’s intellectually very important. Occasionally, you get some converts that way. But it’s really an inefficient way of doing things.”

As John Stuart Mill would say, “Although it is not true that all conservatives are stupid people, it is true that most stupid people are conservative.” No matter what the numbers on their IQ tests… or their bank balances.

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Reader Interactions

131Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:20 pm

    Hoop!

  2. 2.

    max

    March 28, 2015 at 9:25 pm

    And while Thiel expressed doubts to Beck that the outcome of the 2016 race could possibly stave off an impending economic crisis, he has sounded more broadly fatalistic about the political process as well.

    What economic collapse? The one Mittens was afraid of?

    max
    [‘Christ.’]

  3. 3.

    pseudonymous in nc

    March 28, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    Can’t Thiel just make Cruz Elected King of Libertarian Island or Elected Captain of Libertarian Cruise Ship or whatever “let’s start over with government” thing is the new hotness for the SF tech billionaires’ club?

  4. 4.

    Baud

    March 28, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    I’m offended Thiel donated dollars instead of bitcoins.

  5. 5.

    ThresherK

    March 28, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    Womens’ Elite Eight in Albany, Monday night. I have my ticket to see UConn and Dayton!

    My wife’s schedule will not allow attendance, but she has promised not to hate me for going without her.

    (We’ll see abou that last bit.)

  6. 6.

    kindness

    March 28, 2015 at 9:30 pm

    High IQ’s doesn’t mean smarter necessarily. Case in point: Senator Cruz.

  7. 7.

    Splitting Image

    March 28, 2015 at 9:32 pm

    @max:

    What economic collapse? The one Mittens was afraid of?

    The economic crisis caused by millions of people voting to increase the minimum wage and rebuild the social safety net. The horrifying possiblity of the world’s most holy job creators (blessed be their name) having to content themselves with a smaller share of a larger pie.

    That economic crisis.

  8. 8.

    Alan in SF

    March 28, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    So Thiel is against having the federal government use its monopoly on violence to enforce the “intellectual property rights” of Silicon Valley innovators? Oh wait…no, he isn’t.

  9. 9.

    SuperHrefna

    March 28, 2015 at 9:34 pm

    @efgoldman: I think all they notice is how sometimes the will of the people as expressed by government leads to the SF tech billionaires sometimes being told “no, you can’t do that”. And then they has a sad and want to take their ball home. Or carve California up into lots of little fiefdoms. Whichever.

  10. 10.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    March 28, 2015 at 9:35 pm

    @raven:
    Smart, quick, upperclassmen who have NOTHING to lose are making this game more interesting than I’d expected.

  11. 11.

    max

    March 28, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    Ross Douthat:

    If we could actually escape Middle East entanglements entirely, even that “something worse” might be less costly to the United States than trying to sustain the Pax Americana. And if we had a trustworthy hegemon in the wings to replace us, all of this might be moot.

    But in the world as it exists, what we have is an administration that wants to believe it’s getting us out, but a region that’s inexorably, inevitably pulling us back in.

    It’s only inevitable if you decide to do it.

    The Pogues – Birmingham Six:

    There were six men in Birmingham
    In Guildford there’s four
    That were picked up and tortured
    And framed by the law
    And the filth got promotion
    But they’re still doing time
    For being Irish in the wrong place
    And at the wrong time

    In Ireland they’ll put you away in the Maze
    In England they’ll keep you for several long days
    God help you if ever you’re caught on these shores
    And the coppers need someone
    And they walk through that door

    You’ll be counting years
    First five, then ten
    Growing old in a lonely hell
    Round the yard and the stinking cell
    From wall to wall, and back again

    A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
    Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused,
    For the price of promotion
    And justice to sell
    May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell

    {chorus}

    May the whores of the empire lie awake in their beds
    And sweat as they count out the sins on their heads

    While over in Ireland eight more men lie dead
    Kicked down and shot in the back of the head

    {chorus}

    max
    [‘Suck on that.’]

  12. 12.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 9:36 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Smart, quick, upperclassmen who have NOTHING to lose are making this game more interesting than I’d expected.

    They can’t sustain it. But it is interesting so far.

  13. 13.

    cmorenc

    March 28, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    Ever notice how often glibertarians are sufficiently affluent that they effectively can do whatever the fuck they want anyway, short of murdering or literally raping someone?

  14. 14.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 28, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    I saw Lunchbox yesterday. It was better than I expected. Irrfan Khan was really good in it.

  15. 15.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:41 pm

    @efgoldman: We were up 9 on them in the second half.

  16. 16.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    @cmorenc:

    short of murdering or literally raping someone

    Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence.

  17. 17.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Nice night for Bucky.

  18. 18.

    Josie

    March 28, 2015 at 9:43 pm

    But it’s really an inefficient way of doing things.

    That is a somewhat scary statement. Voting is inefficient? I’d like to hear the rest of that thought. I suspect he and his fellow libertarians have something in mind that we would not like at all. It would probably give the elite (them) power to make decisions for the rest of us.

  19. 19.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 9:44 pm

    @raven: Kaminsky is a monster under the basket and Decker is finally living up to his potential.

  20. 20.

    schrodinger's cat

    March 28, 2015 at 9:45 pm

    @max: Chunky Bobo should stick to being a Catholic scold and leave foreign policy to MoU and Bobo.

  21. 21.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    @efgoldman: I know, it’s awful.

  22. 22.

    The Dangerman

    March 28, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):

    Smart, quick, upperclassmen who have NOTHING to lose…

    Fluke. ND won’t win unless UK pulls off one of the greatest choke jobs ever.

    That’s what it will take to prevent 40-0. UK will have to choke one away, they won’t be beat straight up.

  23. 23.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:46 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Decker lit it didn’t he?

  24. 24.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    @raven: The last two games…

  25. 25.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    @The Dangerman: Oh gee you really know a lot about basketball don’t you?

  26. 26.

    Karen in GA

    March 28, 2015 at 9:47 pm

    My husband likes Notre Dame (no idea why), and it’s his birthday tomorrow, so there’s that. Otherwise I’m ignoring this hoops insanity.

  27. 27.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:48 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I realized today a neighborhood friend and law prof is UW Law 97. She’s write a lot about the supreme court.

  28. 28.

    The Dangerman

    March 28, 2015 at 9:49 pm

    @raven:

    Oh gee you really know a lot about basketball don’t you?

    Um …yeah. Thought I was pretty good until I played some pickup with some Clippers and Lakers. A mean lesson…

    …but, yes, I know the game.

  29. 29.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:50 pm

    @The Dangerman: Yea well only someone with incredible knowledge could figure out that a team that is 37-0 is good.

  30. 30.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 9:51 pm

    @efgoldman:

    I have no particular rooting interest in Kentucky, but does it have to be Notre Dame?

    I wouldn’t get too vexed just yet.

  31. 31.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    @raven: They could be very, very lucky. Or all of their opponents could have sucked.

  32. 32.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Or both!

  33. 33.

    gene108

    March 28, 2015 at 9:53 pm

    “I’m sort of skeptical of how much voting actually works in the first place,” Thiel said in 2012. “I used to think that it was really important to directly change the political system, to convince people of things. I still think it’s intellectually very important. Occasionally, you get some converts that way. But it’s really an inefficient way of doing things.”

    Pretty much the same view the Religious Right adopted in the 1980’s. Better to have the vote limited to the “right people” than increase overall voter turn out.

    The Fundies figured out low turnout elections, where they make up most of the voters was the easiest best way for them to win and subvert the system.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GBAsFwPglw

  34. 34.

    sharl

    March 28, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    From the realm of social media dramas comes word that The Editrix seems to have unmasked someone who has been tormenting her for quite some time, as well as ABL and a bunch of other folks on Twitter.

    Rebecca Schoenkopf ‏@commiegirl1
    I know who Assholster is. I have pictures. I know where he works. And congratulations on his graduation from U of P!

    idiot commented from a disqus account with his real name (or at least real pseudonym). he’s on facebook.

    Rebecca Schoenkopf @commiegirl1
    Hope it’s obvious that harassment of young Assholster would be unfortunate, and I mean that. Me, I’m just gonna ask him what’s up.

    He’s been reported and had his accounts suspended numerous times, only to quickly reappear with a new account and start all over again; Assholster is in fact one of his earlier account names.

    There is much rejoicing in certain overlapping sectors of Twitterville.

  35. 35.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    Did you know there is such a thing as a “MANHOLE COVER CUSHION”
    Quickly and easily silence noisy manhole covers ? The new one in front of my house clanks every time someone drives over it and there is a solution!

  36. 36.

    The Dangerman

    March 28, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    @raven:

    ….that a team that is 37-0 is good.

    They aren’t good. They are freakishly good. A little too playground sometimes but, yes, 37-0 and doubling up West Virginia proves the point.

  37. 37.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2015 at 10:00 pm

    Unfortunately, I can see his point—I am not always convinced that voting is an effective vehicle for social change, because there are too many assholes who vote, too. Gun nuts and religious nuts, who are often the same people. That doesn’t mean I give up on it, though. Never cede ground.

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    @raven

    A welding torch works wonders.

    :)

    More seriously, as it is so new it may well be covered under the contractor’s guarantee and thus fixable at their cost.

  39. 39.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    @sharl: I hope she’s confident she got the right person.

  40. 40.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    March 28, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    @raven: That’s pretty cool. And, in case it’s not clear, I did not know that there was such a thing as man hole covers. But I’m a far left liberal.

  41. 41.

    ThresherK

    March 28, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    Grazing around the Teevees. Getting distracted by reaction shots of UK coach while the ball travels 75 feet up the court.

    Chicharito just put Mexico up 1-0 over Ecuador in their “friendly”, a word I consider misused. I understand the need for these matches, but does any other sport call them a “friendly”?

  42. 42.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    @NotMax: I talked to him about it when the grouted the old sewer. He’d never heard of the issue but I did send him a link to the item.

    eta

    When the pumped concrete into the abandoned sewer we got little floods in the yard from where there were breaks in the line.

  43. 43.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    @ThresherK:

    but does any other sport call them a “friendly”?

    Rugby.

  44. 44.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    That was fucking shagnasty.

  45. 45.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    I have never seen a team beat a team that was better than them.

  46. 46.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    @Corner Stone: Twiced.

  47. 47.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @raven

    ’69 Mets?

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    March 28, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    Another unedited video from Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life Tour last Tuesday. Almost done with edits…wooh!

    “Uptight (Everything Is Alright)

    You’ll have to excuse the talking, my friend kept forgetting to shut up while I was recording…LOL.

  49. 49.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    @efgoldman: Notre Dame may not win but they didn’t win the fucking ACC by being middlin.

  50. 50.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    @NotMax: And about a zillion other teams.

  51. 51.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 28, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Our holes need to be covered, frankly.

  52. 52.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    @a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Really? What I didn’t know was how big manholes are. The cover is way smaller than the actual hole. The put in Dog House Manholes on our job.

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: If this thread heads in the direction of group sex and dead bodies, I will be quite cross.

  54. 54.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    @efgoldman: go soak your head

  55. 55.

    ThresherK

    March 28, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Rugby? Hmm.

    Does the whole “club & country” thing play out in rugby like in soccer? I’ve always figured that between the nations’ leagues, World Cup, and continental team trophies, soccer had to get players together for friendlies to tune up for competitions stretching over months and months after they’ve all been playing somewhere else. Is it the same for rugby?

    (On the other hand, think of how unnecessary that is in baseball or American football.)

  56. 56.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:14 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    If this thread heads in the direction of group sex and dead bodies, I will be quite cross.

    Alex Cross? Ashley Judd is in residence.

  57. 57.

    sharl

    March 28, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @Corner Stone: She is definitely confident. I just hope her confidence is well placed.

    She seems to have been pretty thorough in her research, and the “normal, non-hostile” twitter account she cited as belonging to this miscreant seems to have shown some occasional cracks in its facade, include a couple that occurred about the time Schoenkopf was posting this stuff. And those tweets bear some similar characteristics to the creepy stuff posted under the various Assholster accounts.

    Also just noticed that Cole asked about this on Twitter; apparently he has also been the object of Assholster’s unwanted attention.

    [And fwiw, while I think it was only unverified pattern recognition-type speculation at the time, someone once suggested that this nut used to go after ABL pretty regularly in comments here – or at least tried to, moderation and banning policies permitting – then just followed her to wherever else she posts, then jumped over to hassle anyone who seemed friendly with ABL, etc., etc. Beats me, but I guess it isn’t implausible.]

  58. 58.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    @ThresherK:

    Is it the same for rugby?

    Yep.

  59. 59.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    No idea why KY isn’t pounding it deep inside for the score.

  60. 60.

    Violet

    March 28, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Only will if you start talking about houses too.

  61. 61.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:17 pm

    Dog House Manhole.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    March 28, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    Via Reddit, here is a video of a monkey petting puppies.

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    @Violet: I have an apartment. I am not sure how that plays into it.

  64. 64.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: I believe I can assist here. If a dead boddy shows up there it’s due to your life decisions. Which you need to change. Just saying.

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 28, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    @raven: That’s a big hole.

  66. 66.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    @Corner Stone: I found a dead centipede under a chair once.

  67. 67.

    Corner Stone

    March 28, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    …ouch?

  68. 68.

    Baud

    March 28, 2015 at 10:20 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    It probably means you’ll lose your security deposit.

  69. 69.

    gene108

    March 28, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @Corner Stone:

    No idea why KY isn’t pounding it deep inside for the score.

    Outside of Towns, none of the Kentucky bigs has an offensive game. Big men take time to develop moves against higher level competition.

    Problem with one-and-dones.

    EDIT: One reason why Anthony Davis has taken a couple of years to become a beast this year.

  70. 70.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Yea, 18 feet at that point.

  71. 71.

    Mike J

    March 28, 2015 at 10:21 pm

    @efgoldman: And with an international weekend, no premier league to give us non stop action. I’ve loved the NBC promos for next week though. Liverpool-Arse and Chelsea-Stoke. At least they’ll have one interesting game.

    These promos have run during race coverage from KL. Ferrari is actually trying to make it interesting. I was beginning to think they were going to have to force Merc to use last year’s cars to get any competition.

  72. 72.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    March 28, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: You never let me have any fun. Well, hardly ever. And I almost headed there with my last comment, to the point of nodding in that direction. Just for you. Well, and Corner Stone.

    ETA: Caught a typo that was pretty hilarious in context.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus

    It’s Weekend at Bernie’s all over again…

  74. 74.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:23 pm

    @Baud: Dammit!

  75. 75.

    Amir Khalid

    March 28, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    @Mike J:
    The Formula 1 track is not actually in KL. It’s way, way out in Sepang. And I myself shall be ignoring the race, as I have done for the past decade and more. Formula 1 is the ultimate expression of going around in circles.

  76. 76.

    Mike J

    March 28, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    ND players wearing Father Ted insignia? “Down with this sort of thing!“

  77. 77.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    @Corner Stone: Don’t forget:

    —on thread of any topic—-

    My dad is a great guy. Just a great guy. Never done anything shitty. I can’ the liege people would do this. I like ice cream.

  78. 78.

    JordanRules

    March 28, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    @Suzanne: Start with Look… or Heck… and it’s spot on.

  79. 79.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    @Suzanne: “Can’t believe”. Damn you, autocorrect. You’re my worst enema.

  80. 80.

    Violet

    March 28, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: That counts. So long as it could be considered “yours.”

    @Corner Stone: Well, he certainly would have a lot to answer for.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    March 28, 2015 at 10:30 pm

    @JordanRules: LMMFAO.

    I’m such an asshole.

  82. 82.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:31 pm

    God I hate Notre Dame!

    GO IRISH!!!

  83. 83.

    muddy

    March 28, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    Larry Wilmore really really hopes that Kentucky doesn’t win.

  84. 84.

    danielx

    March 28, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    @raven:

    Quickly and easily silence noisy manhole covers ? The new one in front of my house clanks every time someone drives over it and there is a solution!

    I like this idea, particularly since the capital city of my fair state (where RFRA was passed? Aye, the very same!) has recently been afflicted with an outbreak of exploding manhole covers. Could the two be related? Inquiring minds want to know.

    Item 1 – this is a kickass basketball game. It can’t be IU obviously, but if any Indiana team beats Kentucky it will give me a warm feeling. Not as warm as Calipari would feel, but warm.

    Item 2 – Elderly cats prefer having their kitteh beds close (but not too close) to the fireplace with a serious fire going.
    Also. Too.

  85. 85.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    @danielx: Isn’t Kentucky in Indiana?

  86. 86.

    JordanRules

    March 28, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    I want to get into my 80’s nostalgia feels tonight. Browsing Amazon and Netflix for something light with some action, comedy and shoulder pads.

    Watched some old Barry Sanders footage earlier today that was posted on another blog. It feels good to be reminded of greatness from time to time. It was so much fun watching him play.

  87. 87.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:39 pm

    @JordanRules: Try “Cross My Heart” with Martin Short and Annette O’Toole.

  88. 88.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:40 pm

    @raven: No, but Indiana is in Pennsylvania.

  89. 89.

    muddy

    March 28, 2015 at 10:44 pm

    @raven: The lid part is smaller because if they made the opening as big as the interior pipe needs to be, the lid would then be too heavy to lift. Thus the offset reduction pipe.

  90. 90.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    @muddy: And all it needs it to be big enough for a person to get in and go down the ladder.

  91. 91.

    Paul in KY

    March 28, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    Notre Dame is a hell of a team. Still think we will pull it out. Great game.

  92. 92.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:50 pm

    I hate ND but I love this team and coach. Speaking of, where’s big mouth Digger been?

  93. 93.

    Ruckus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    @efgoldman:
    You still have hair?

  94. 94.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    I’m almost to Kansas City! Can anybody see me?

  95. 95.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    @raven: What do ANZACs have to do with it?

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Sorry, I have a cold.

  96. 96.

    muddy

    March 28, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    @raven: I like how they brick it at the top to match the road grade.

  97. 97.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 10:55 pm

    @muddy: Yea, that was news to me.

  98. 98.

    ThresherK

    March 28, 2015 at 10:56 pm

    @JordanRules: “Top Secret!” ZAZ and Val Kilmer. Not sure if it’s a late night or slightly drunk thing. Since it’s 11pm here, that’s a great time to watch it.

    Velcome Neek!

  99. 99.

    JoyfulA

    March 28, 2015 at 10:57 pm

    @efgoldman: Indiana State University is in Pennsylvania. So is Moscow.
    As well as in Maine, possibly, Norway is in South Carolina, near Denmark, South Carolina.

  100. 100.

    muddy

    March 28, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    @raven: They are essentially shims. When paving happens next, if they do an overlay, they will add another layer of bricks to bring the rim back to grade.

  101. 101.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    @JordanRules

    The Stunt Man (1980).

  102. 102.

    NotMax

    March 28, 2015 at 11:01 pm

    @JoyfulA

    Jersey Shore is smack dab in mid-Pennsylvania.

  103. 103.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    @muddy: It’s done.

  104. 104.

    raven

    March 28, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    @muddy: Here’s the whole deal.

  105. 105.

    JoyfulA

    March 28, 2015 at 11:05 pm

    @NotMax: Indeed it is.

  106. 106.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:06 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Christ, will somebody just hit that link and let me know if it’s visible outside United’s captive network?!

  107. 107.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:07 pm

    @raven: I thought you meant the game!

  108. 108.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 11:11 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): No, it doesn’t give us your location. It is a generic page about the planes and shit.

  109. 109.

    sharl

    March 28, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Like Omnes at #120 says, the URL you linked gets redirected to http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/wifi/default.aspx, which is a site that discusses the status of United’s in-flight Wi-Fi availability.

  110. 110.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus, @sharl:

    Thanks. Up here in the friendly skies the page shows a map with my little plane icon winging across it (now in the middle of southern Kansas) and ETA to LAS (now 2:05).

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): The little map is fun, isn’t it?

  112. 112.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:26 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet):

    Two hours five minutes from now, not 2:05 a.m.

  113. 113.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:32 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Yes, it’s delaying my assault on the crossword in Hemispheres magazine.

    Alas, the SkyMall catalogue is no more.

  114. 114.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Damn it then. Damn it to hell!

  115. 115.

    MobiusKlein

    March 28, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    @efgoldman: I have noticed! But I was not a loony tech libertarian

  116. 116.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:41 pm

    @efgoldman:

    Apparently not. But it was weird, fascinating reading.

    ETA: An amazing compendium of things I didn’t know I didn’t need.

  117. 117.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Try the Robb Report sometime.

    ETA: It make one consider expropriation and guillotines and such.

  118. 118.

    Steeplejack (tablet)

    March 28, 2015 at 11:52 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Or any of those watches and cigars magazines.

  119. 119.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 28, 2015 at 11:58 pm

    @Steeplejack (tablet): Exactly. My nice watch was a $1000 thing and those mags pooh-pooh it as crap. I think my nice watch was a silly extravagance that I enjoy.

  120. 120.

    opiejeanne

    March 29, 2015 at 12:15 am

    @raven: I talked to my resident Civil Engineer and he says there are two solutions to the noisy manhole cover. The first is for the city or the contractor to bolt it down correctly, the second is to install a cushion. He also says it’s usually just ignored and not addressed unless there are complaints.

  121. 121.

    opiejeanne

    March 29, 2015 at 12:18 am

    @Suzanne: LOL! And here I thought that typo was in imitation of that certain someone’s typing accidents.

    No bodies nor wild sex parties so far, not in my house.

  122. 122.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 29, 2015 at 12:22 am

    @opiejeanne: Have you looked everywhere?

  123. 123.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 29, 2015 at 12:28 am

    @opiejeanne: @Omnes Omnibus: Could have gone by smell, I suppose.

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    March 29, 2015 at 12:36 am

    @efgoldman – Steeplejack

    Somewhat interesting article in The Atlantic on the life and demise of the Skymall catalog.

  125. 125.

    opiejeanne

    March 29, 2015 at 2:01 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I did not check the closet in the guest bedroom. Maybe I should have a look?

  126. 126.

    The Raven on the Hill

    March 29, 2015 at 2:46 am

    Wow. Because Cruz is a such a good libertarian. No way, man. I guess Thiel, like so many others who claim to be libertarians are in the end about wealth, not freedom.

    Kraw…I wish I could stop doing business with Thiel’s PayPal, but there is just no way, as far as I can see. It would be nice if there were an honest, law-respecting, law-abiding international payment service.

  127. 127.

    Mike G

    March 29, 2015 at 3:18 am

    Wow. Because Cruz is a such a good libertarian. No way, man. I guess Thiel, like so many others who claim to be libertarians are in the end about wealth, not freedom.

    Scratch a libertarian, find an authoritarian.

    They turn out to be very selective about what they demand liberty for (money stuff only), and who actually gets to use it. Despite their so-sacred principles of freedom and competition they always end up supporting bossy-government social conservatives like Cruz or crony-capitalist sleaze like Bush.

  128. 128.

    Ruckus

    March 29, 2015 at 3:46 am

    @efgoldman:
    My forehead and my backhead are getting very close to meeting. And not in the middle. Still, if I wanted I could have Bozo’s hairstyle. Not sure I could pull it off.

  129. 129.

    Matt McIrvin

    March 29, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    To this day I see Silicon Valley techie types, some of whom should definitely know better, passing around links to Thiel’s musings as if he were a person worth paying attention to. This annoys me.

  130. 130.

    Hob

    March 29, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    @efgoldman: When Thiel says voting is “inefficient” he doesn’t mean inefficient in accomplishing the will of the people, he means inefficient in making things be the way they obviously should be from the point of view of a rich Libertarian. This is the same guy who said female suffrage was a mistake because women don’t agree with Libertarian notions of freedom. (My earlier comment with a link to his barf-inducing essay was lost in moderation, probably for the best, but you can find it on his Wikipedia article)

  131. 131.

    Zinsky

    March 30, 2015 at 8:26 am

    Libertarianism is a sophomoric wet dream. Ask a libertarian to point out one country, just one, on the face of the planet where that form of governance (or lack of governance) has worked out. Just. One.

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