Wow, this guy had no idea what he was doing at all. Why so heavy on the throttle? why not wait for a green light? So strange that anyone would do this let alone a cop in public.

This is so heavy handed and silly.. I imagine Oren from Parks and Rec came up with the concept.

Jesus H Christ man.

If you can imagine this. Maybe you cannot because you lack any psychedelic experience. You take twenty sugar cubes of LSD. It comes on quick because you are taking a heroic dose,so in maybe ten minutes you feel it. Say you did that? You would trip HARD for a couple days maybe. Maybe a week. You would never get anywhere close to where DMT takes a person on one toke, in ten minutes. LSD is also a tryptamine like DMT, in fact LSD is a much more complex tryptamine.

So, you tell me. Why is it that after that first toke it takes seconds to pass the blood/brain barrier like sugar? Seems to me, that there is a neurological function for this experience, which would also cater to the fact of why it is so heavy. Forget the fact that you are going to feel like you are dead, that you have literally been killed, maybe that is what makes it spiritual; we live in a reductionist society as you clearly believe. Forget all of that. Why is it that this molecule is so far and beyond the other tryptamines, that one instantly goes into a trance? That is first and foremost. After scientists figure out that one, then they might be intrigued by the fact that the imagery is otherwordly, the sound are otherwordly that the experience is otherworldly. Again, no one knows why or how. But, for you. YOU SHOULD JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT

I agree with Cenk. A secret that big weighs very heavy on the mind, so heavy that the mind will do what it must to relieve said weight, including mixing up some flash drives.

Well, remember how we were talking about taxes? If we're going to play the fashionable game and tack dollar values of benefits onto people's salaries to pad the number for demagogic effect, then my effective tax rate is even smaller, more like 8% if you add the value of my health & retirement benefits to my income. You really need to consider doing your taxes yourself, clearly your CPA is doing something wrong.

So here's the thing, you say firefighters have such a sweet deal because of unions. I have an idea, how about instead of taking away unions from firefighters, why not get unions for everyone?

As for why you get flack from liberals for being a selfish fascist when you bitch about taxes, it's because you never give anyone a reason to think you're somehow being treated unfairly. There's one set of Federal tax laws, and most of us can fill out our 1040 or 1040EZ, grumble, and go on with life. You aren't running your business as a charity to help the unemployed, you're trying to make a buck. There's no blankfist tax, or anti-entrepreneurial tax. On the contrary, there are tax subsidies for small business all over the place, to the point where little middle class worker bees like me get fucking tired of hearing about it.

GE somehow paid zero taxes, and got a 3.2 billion dollar check from Uncle Sam. Instead of bitching about the insanity of that, all you want to do is fuck over all public sector employees all across the nation because you think they might be getting a slightly better deal than you.

Surely by now you've seen this:

A CEO, a tea party member, and a union worker are all sitting at a table when a plate with a dozen cookies arrives. Before anyone else can make a move, the CEO reaches out to rake in eleven of the cookies. When the other two look at him in surprise, the CEO locks eyes with the tea party member. “You better watch him,” the executive says with a nod toward the union worker. “He wants a piece of your cookie.”

That's what you're doing.

Oh, and by the way, student loans are subsidized by tax dollars. As was your K-12 education, I suspect. I bet you've also taken advantage of the services of countless thousands or millions of people who had their education paid for or subsidized by tax dollars. I bet the navy taught you some marketable job skills even (beyond the right way to use a glory hole). You were probably born in a hospital that was subsidized by tax dollars, and delivered by a doctor whose education was subsidized by tax dollars, and received vaccinations for childhood illness that were developed by research subsidized or wholly funded by tax dollars. You might even occasionally use this thing called the Internet, which is based on technology developed at DARPA as part of the defense budget.

Look, I have sympathy for anyone who's struggling to make ends meet, and I know running your own business is tough -- that's why I haven't tried it. But it's your philosophy that says people have to own their failures even if it's not really their fault. If you were working for, say, Blockbuster the last 15 years, did an excellent job, but then got laid off because traditional rentals got destroyed by Netflix, that's your fucking problem, and nobody else should have to help you out with your plight. That includes bailouts in the form of tax cuts.

Me, I want a safety net so that if you seriously fall flat on your face, you won't have to worry about having a place to sleep, and food to eat, and will still be able to go see a doctor for the STD you picked up from fucking farm animals. I think all life is precious, and that the markets are a fickle and harsh mistress, while the nanny state should always welcome you into her large, welcoming bosom.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Yes, LA is really fucked up. So is California in general. And so are my apocryphal firefighters and policemen.

The average pay for firefighters you linked me to doesn't account for benefits and pension, does it? That's just base salary. So, if the average pay for firefighters is just under $44k, then that's pretty much their taxable income because I cannot image what possible expenses they'd deduct, because they have zero financial risk being an employee. And I'd imagine his benefits alone would equal around $15k to $20k. And then of course their pension which is available when they retire at 55.

That's a pretty good deal. And they get women fawning over them and the vox populi calling them heros. Then there's the guy in the private sector, who's painted to look selfish and evil. People like me. But we don't have unions to protect us, give us great pensions and benefits, and we actually create jobs. I created two last year myself. That aside, the real problems with LA and CA are the unions. They were one thing when they protected proletariats from the bourgeoisie in Charles Dickens' England, but they're something entirely different today, especially when allowed to collude with government and legislators.

I grew up in a milltown in the South. You can't get more working class than that. I'm almost 40 and I'm still paying off my college loans, so suffice it to say no one helped me out. Being happy? I know what makes me happy. The same things you mentioned: not having to worry about rent, not having to worry about food, etc. But without getting too personal here, I can safely say some of that worries me right now because of what I owe to the taxman. And probably nine to eight years back I was in a really, really bad place, yet the taxman cometh. I tried to cash a honkey check, but apparently those don't exist. I guess being white only goes so far contrary to modern lib rhetoric.

What I find interesting is if someone like me bitches that the tax is too high, which it is, then some of you complain I'm selfish and refusing to pay my fair share. But isn't it you, the statists who believe in stealing my money to give to others, that are actually being selfish by laying the tax burden so heavy on the middle class? Specifically income tax.

Yes, LA is really fucked up. So is California in general. And so are my apocryphal firefighters and policemen.

The average pay for firefighters you linked me to doesn't account for benefits and pension, does it? That's just base salary. So, if the average pay for firefighters is just under $44k, then that's pretty much their taxable income because I cannot image what possible expenses they'd deduct, because they have zero financial risk being an employee. And I'd imagine his benefits alone would equal around $15k to $20k. And then of course their pension which is available when they retire at 55.

That's a pretty good deal. And they get women fawning over them and the vox populi calling them heros. Then there's the guy in the private sector, who's painted to look selfish and evil. People like me. But we don't have unions to protect us, give us great pensions and benefits, and we actually create jobs. I created two last year myself. That aside, the real problems with LA and CA are the unions. They were one thing when they protected proletariats from the bourgeoisie in Charles Dickens' England, but they're something entirely different today, especially when allowed to collude with government and legislators.

I grew up in a milltown in the South. You can't get more working class than that. I'm almost 40 and I'm still paying off my college loans, so suffice it to say no one helped me out. Being happy? I know what makes me happy. The same things you mentioned: not having to worry about rent, not having to worry about food, etc. But without getting too personal here, I can safely say some of that worries me right now because of what I owe to the taxman. And probably nine to eight years back I was in a really, really bad place, yet the taxman cometh. I tried to cash a honkey check, but apparently those don't exist. I guess being white only goes so far contrary to modern lib rhetoric.

What I find interesting is if someone like me bitches that the tax is too high, which it is, then some of you complain I'm selfish and refusing to pay my fair share. But isn't it you, the statists who believe in stealing my money to give to others, that are actually being selfish by laying the tax burden so heavy on the middle class? Specifically income tax.

In reply to this comment by NetRunner:
Okay, so LA has a problem. It's not a nationwide epidemic, the average pay for firefighters simply isn't that high. Members of congress get paid $174,000 a year, the President gets paid $400,000/yr. You probably shouldn't be paying the average firefighter more than a House freshman, and the Fire Chief more than the President.

As for your architect, I'm not surprised by that at all. If you want to tell that as a story about taxes, you're probably going to have to at least provide an example of how the math works out so that you make less owning your own business than working for someone else solely because of taxes. I bet it's mostly due to the fact that there's not really a big market for a mom & pop architect out there even in good times, and especially given the state of the real estate market right now. Running your own business isn't easy, and it's certainly not the way to get yourself a stable source of take home income in a depressed economy.

I'm of two minds about your last paragraph. Someday I think I'm going to write some big blog posts about my life, and how it shaped my political outlook. For now, I'll just say I did ultimately have a privileged life compared to most, but not by as much as you seem to assume. I'm no trust fund baby -- and I went to school with enough of those to know the difference. I have a shitload more in common with the poor working class people in the neighborhood I grew up in than I do with the trust fund set I went to school with.

The trust fund set generally felt like accumulation of wealth and status was the primary route to happiness. The more working class people in my neighborhood saw money as more of a means to an end. Happiness for them was being able to not have to worry about whether they could afford groceries, or worry about their car breaking down, or having to borrow to make rent/mortgage payments, or medicine for sick kids. They didn't really care about having the nicest clothes, a nice car, gourmet foods, or who had membership to the more prestigious country club. Those were things my rich friends talked about constantly.

I grew up constantly switching between class experiences. Over time it made me see pretty clearly that money isn't the key to real happiness. I saw lots of unhappy rich people, and lots of happy poor people. Their outlook on life had more to do with things other than money.

Anyways, it sounds like you think you're engaged in a class struggle to try to help the lower classes get a leg up on the rich. If so, great, you and I are on the same side then.

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Dude, is it so hard to believe a public employee makes $12,000 a month? That's only $144,000 a year, not $1.4 million. It's possible. Especially since so many groups are unionized in this state.

[snip]

My CPA also told me a story of an architect who got tired of struggling as a small business and having to pay so much in taxes, so he quit the private sector to make more money working for the city. You wanna call BS on my apocryphal architect?

And I do care about the taxes I have to pay. I envy you that you don't. You must've had a great life as a lawyer's son. Always having more than you owe. I wish we all could come from there so we could also take the same sanctimonious positions you do. Only people of privilege seem to say things like, "money isn't everything." As if they scowl at the rest of us for wanting better for ourselves. Now excuse me while I go back to that mom of yours I was fucking when I told you this story.

>> ^garmachi:

I actually don't think the audience member was trying to prove or disprove anything, I think he was trying to be silly. This is like asking if God could create a rock so heavy that even he couldn't lift it. A meaningless silly question formed only to spark debate, as is presupposes the existence of a god at all.


Actually I think that's a very valid question as it illustrates that belief in an omnipotent being results in logical contradictions, or at the very least that such belief is not something it makes much sense to try to rationally discuss.

I actually don't think the audience member was trying to prove or disprove anything, I think he was trying to be silly. This is like asking if God could create a rock so heavy that even he couldn't lift it. A meaningless silly question formed only to spark debate, as is presupposes the existence of a god at all.

@chtierna

I would imagine he was in the same situation I was in. It was more convenient to let it happen for the school, for the people cheating, for the teachers and the only people hurt were the ones who didn't participate and got punished for it with lower scores than the cheaters. If the house of cards ever did come down, it'd probably result in all the higher ups being replaced and all the profs being re-assessed. I can safely say it ran all the way up to the Dean in my school of study within the university. Otherwise he wouldn't have been changing my evaluation scores like I was agreeing with his point of view.....right in front of me. I mean who else do you complain to if you can't complain to the dean? And is it going to result in something that means the last 4 years of time and money investment aren't worth complete shit at the end? It's a slowly spiraling situation with most of the state funded universities I suspect, they expect certain numbers of passing students/etc and they do what it takes or ignore whatever it takes to get those numbers and a nice padding on top of it.

This is where businesses go "That new batch of hires we just got really suck compared to the ones we hired 10 years ago, maybe we should make sure they have 5-10 years experience from now on." And we end up in this cycle where you need a degree, high marks, and 5-10 years experience to land an entry level job or a whole load of luck and a big dose of bending the truth (making shit up) on your resume.

I have to say I got stuck there, the company I co-oped for didn't offer me a job when I finished even though they had said repeatedly they'd have something and never indicated dissatisfaction with my work. Plus I didn't see how my experience at that particular job could apply to others because they didn't want co-ops being involved in the core code due to patents/theft/whatever, so I was left with hands on testing, GUI work, and hardware tests if the software was throwing up on it for some reason. And I didn't feel it was right to embellish my resume because it'd cause me a lot of grief if someone wanted me and I couldn't produce at their expectations.

And then the dotcom bubble burst, man that was an awesome time. People with 15 and 20 years experience taking the entry level positions in my area for the next 3-4 years. I never recovered from it, I worked where I could keep a job and work off paying my loans. And now it's even worse, job market is still declining in my area..across the board.

I will say this, there was a teacher at my university who literally didn't show up for class half a quarter. Never returned assignments or tests until the end of the quarter. No one knew if they were doing anything satisfactory. At the end most of the students were screwed, they petitioned and they all got a passing grade in the class due to this. But that means they potentially learned nothing. This teacher went on later to teach the same class...that I was in. He was horrible, I skipped his class....I mean he literally acted like he was on something. And he drove a car with no top in the winter...it snowed into his car. This guy was still working there when I graduated. And he spoke understandable English...I had lecturers that were using words I didn't understand because their accent was so heavy. Finally after class I'd get to ask someone else if they understood the words I didnt, and they ask me some words they didn't understands...and we deciphered the code. This happened more and more as I progressed toward my degree, more heavy accents. At some point you gotta laugh at how crazy it was just trying to take a class you're paying a hefty sum of cash for.


>> ^chtierna:

Wasn't there any way you could tip the teachers off as to what was happening?
>> ^ShakyJake:
I just graduated recently with a Mechanical Engineering degree, and I have to say that I just WISH this had happened in some of my classes. There were communities in some of my classes that I was never part of that had copies of everything, each semester. All the homework problems out of the textbooks, old exams from previous semesters where the professor just used the same exam year after year, these guys had it all. And no matter how hard I studied, I could never match that kind of advantage. Even more frustrating was that in most cases the classes would be based on "the curve", and these people threw that off. I never actually stooped to cheating, but there were certainly times I wished I had been.

LMFAHS.

I literally laughed out loud. Well done.

In reply to this comment by Hive13:
>> ^rottenseed:

That was heavy


There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

>> ^rottenseed:

That was heavy


There's that word again; "heavy". Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

Good stuff, thanks for posting this. Everything I know about guitar and piano chords started with these guys. Like "Oh Darling" starting with an "E augmented add 9". And the E7 with the flatted 9 in "She's So Heavy". And the D#m7 w/flatted 5th, as the second chord in "Because". I never heard these chords anywhere else and it inspired me to figure out all the different chord permutations.

>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
This is heavy!


There's that word again, 'heavy'. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the earth's gravitational pull?

>> ^Wingoguy:
What the heck?! Where was that chain being fed to?


To the sea, I suppose, I think the anchor is rushing towards the bottom and because its so heavy, they have brakes that normally slows its descent.

Damnit. Just...damnit. I like to think of myself as a pacifist and someone that always tries to do the right thing. However, stories like this make the ball of rage in my stomach burn it's way to the surface. Had the police department admitted their mistake and just tried to sweep this under the rug, I would have found this story disturbing, but not rage inducing. As it stands, to arrest the family for protecting their daughter from criminals (that happened to be plain clothes cops) makes me insane with anger.

I usually denounce violence and hope for peaceful solutions, but in this case I can honestly say that I hope some gun crazed vigilante shoots all 3 of those cops in the face. Maybe if cops started fearing the public, they wouldn't choose to act so heavy handed in the future.

I expect this comment to get downvoted to hell because of the above statement, but I sincerely mean it. The police are getting out of control in this country and no one is doing a damn thing about it.