Overnight Open Thread (1-7-2014)

The Agonies of the Feminist Left

And what made Collette so very, very rageful? Apparently the existence of this:

Which is a classic example of my theory of Conservation of Misery which posits that most people have a more or less fixed amount of angst/anxiety/anger hardwired into them.

Now in the past this emotional energy was expended on such real and worthwhile concerns as wolves, starvation, murder, sorcery, and barbarians. But today in a world of vastly more health, wealth and safety we still have this free-floating mass of concern inside us which demands catharsis. So we end up focusing it on ever more trivial and rare (or even non-existent) targets such as global warming, food preservatives, rampant child abduction, people wrong on the internet, and the existence of male-targeted potato chips. Oh THE OUTRAGE!!

Former GOP Senator Dick Lugar Donates to Democratic Candidate in GA

Well I guess he can finally stop pretending to be conservative and we can stop pretending he was really a Republican. (Thanks to Slu for the link)

In Colorado You Can Legally Have Pot or a Gun But Not Both

Because while Colorado may have legalized pot, the federal government has not and so question 11E on ATF Form 4473 still applies: "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant or narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?" So you can buy your pot legally in CO but the ATF still considers it an illegal drug and thus a disqualification from buying or possessing firearms.

China and Japan: No, No You're More Voldemort-like

For China's envoy, Lui Xiaoming, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's year-end visit to Yasukuni Shrine - where Japan's war dead are honored - was evidence that dark forces were at play at the heart of the administration in Tokyo.

"In the Harry Potter story, the dark wizard Voldemort dies hard because the seven horcruxes, which contain parts of his soul, have been destroyed," he wrote. "If militarism is like the haunting Voldemort of Japan, the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is a kind of horcrux, representing the darkest parts of that nation's soul."

...It took Japan just a few days to respond in kind, again in the pages of the Daily Telegraph. "East Asia is now at a crossroads," Japan's envoy to London, Keiichi Hayashi, wrote. "There are two paths open to China. One is to seek dialogue, and abide by the rule of law. The other is to play the role of Voldemort in the region by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions, although Japan will not escalate the situation from its side."

A Grenade Oops

"It only works if the round is in the chamber," delivered sotto voce by the drill instructor, is the greatest putdown evar, but Private Urkel is just warming up at that point.

Now ordinarily YouTube comments are cesspit of snark and general douchiness and ignorance. But in this case some commenters actually put some knowledge into the usual insult warriors by pointing out that a) these are recruits just beginning their training b) they're screwing up but are being corrected on the spot which is the point of training c) there's a reason why they're yelling and following a script and d) they're probably sleep deprived, physically exhausted and hungry. So yeah Private Urkel may have amusingly fucked up in the video but that doesn't mean he is a fuck-up.

And in fact the drill sergeant who filmed this chimed in and added this comment:

That would be my video that my wife posted on Army WTF moments over three years ago. That's right, I'm the DS doing the video. The point wasn't to humiliate the recruits but to capture moments of their training through out BCT. The videos and photos I took during their training was shared with the recruits upon their graduation and showed and shared with their permission. I have since retired from the Army in 2012 and from what I understand those two recruits went on the become outstanding Soldiers.

Gutfeld's Guide to Writing a Successful Article in Slate

How to Create Your Own Cryptocurrency

What if conservatives created their own currency and started opting out of the regular economy? And no silver dimes don't count.

Apparently This Is a Thing

And someone made an entire documentary about the subculture based around it.

The AoSHQ group. Yeah.

Teh Tweet!

Tonight's post brought to you by the fashion trend of 2014:

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posted by Maetenloch at 10:44 PM

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