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Republicans

Journal Journal: Michelle Bachman Compares Obama to Andreas Lubitz 65

Former presidential hopeful Michelle Bachman recently compared President Obama to Germanwings copilot Andreas Lubitz:

"With his Iran deal, Barack Obama is for the 300 million souls of the United States what Andreas Lubitz was for the 150 souls on the German Wings (sic) flight - a deranged pilot flying his entire nation into the rocks. After the fact, among the smoldering remains of American cities, the shocked survivors will ask, why did he do it?"

No, this is not an April Fool's joke. She really is that far disconnected from reality.

Republicans

Journal Journal: The Kevlar Kandidate Wants A 7-Day Workweek, No Days Off 78

He already signed a law that gets as close to abolition of public-sector unions as any that has ever passed in this country. He has already gone back on his word to not be interested in attacking private-sector unions, in voicing his support for a similar bill for private-sector unions. He has also shown big support for "right to work" laws.

But none of that is really good enough for the Kevlar Kandidate, at least not when he's running for president. He has to out-conservative the likes of Rick Perry, so he has to really show he's willing to screw the working class as hard as possible for maximum enjoyment of as few as possible.

Well, this might do it: Could Wisconsin's Scott Walker now abolish the weekend?

State law currently allows factory or retail employees to work seven days or more in a row for a limited period, but they and their employer have to jointly petition the Department of Workforce Development for a waiver. These petitions apparently number a couple of hundred a year. The new proposal would allow workers to "voluntarily choose" to work without a day of rest. The state agency wouldn't have a say.

It can't be a secret what "voluntary" really means in this context. As Marquette University law professor Paul Secunda told The Nation, the measure "completely ignores the power dynamic in the workplace, where workers often have a proverbial gun to the head." Workers will know that if the boss demands it, they'll be volunteering or else.

Going on...

Bloomberg economic analyst Christopher Flavelle wrote recently that as measured by improvement in "the living standards of the people he represents...Walker's tenure falls somewhere between lackluster and a failure."

It's funny.  Laugh.

Journal Journal: Smitty, do you know this guy? 20

Someone just introduced themselves in one of my journal entries, and the way he writes you could be brothers separated at birth. I thought you were quick to move the goal posts, but if you two teamed up I'd never even see them!

Take a look at the humor starting here. To make it even better he has a much higher UID than my own and over 5,000 comments to his credit, so I would bet the hits just keep rolling!
Government

Journal Journal: If the supreme court kills the health care bill... 79

Would that mean that my health insurance company would no longer have an excuse to not offer the plan I was on last year? The greedy bastards used the Health Insurance Industry Bailout Act of 2010 as an excuse to stop offering a plan that cost me less from every angle than the one I have through them now.

However, for the court to force them to do so, after repealing the greatest corporate handout in the history of government, would be unprecedented. Even more so, it would be counter to the other great handouts that the SCOTUS has given to corporations in the past several years.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Yo-yo mods (bring it) 5

Special achievement unlocked - avalanche of moderation and tidal wave of replies on the same comment. I count around 27 moderations on just the first comment there, and the reply count to it is over 20 now as well. The wave of people who were excited to show their support for the conservative wars on education and literacy was staggering as well.

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

It is currently scored Normal (0).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

It is currently scored Troll (-1).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Troll (0).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Troll (1).

Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Normal (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

It is currently scored Troll (0).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Troll (1).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Informative (+1).

It is currently scored Insightful (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Informative (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

It is currently scored Informative (1).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Informative (+1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Informative (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

It is currently scored Insightful (3).

Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Informative (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

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Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

It is currently scored Flamebait (0).

Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Troll (-1).

It is currently scored Insightful (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Insightful (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Insightful (3).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Overrated (-1).

It is currently scored Insightful (2).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

It is currently scored Insightful (1).

Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Flamebait (-1).

It is currently scored Flamebait (-1).

Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

It is currently scored Insightful (2).

Re:Maybe in a different country , posted to Mental Health Experts Seek To Block the Paths To Suicide , has been moderated Insightful (+1).

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User Journal

Journal Journal: What's the difference between... 1

... an Ayn Rand (or Ron Paul) follower and a Scientologist?

Well, one read a shitty piece of fiction by an author with a shady past, and used it as the base of almost all of their critical life decisions - including those regarding mental, physical, and financial health. The other would like to tell you all about your theta level. In other words, not much.
First Person Shooters (Games)

Journal Journal: Welcome back to DrudgeDot 13

We had a pretty interesting front page article today on preventing suicide by making it harder to pull off. I noticed that one suggestion in the summary would be particularly hard to pull off in this country as too many people here defend the "right" to be irresponsible with weapons.

This angered two different conservative camps here on slashdot. The first was not surprising, being the people who defend irresponsible gun ownership. The second was a little more surprising, though, being the Randians. It didn't take long for them to come out in droves and proclaim their pro-suicide stance.

The pro-suicide stance probably shouldn't surprise me much, considering how much people still expend great amounts of time and energy into discrediting mental health treatment at every opportunity. What does surprise me though is how proudly people will come out in favor of suicide, and how proudly they will show how little they understand about mental health. It leaves me to wonder what they would say if their idols were themselves diagnosed with mental health issues; I would wager they would suddenly start singing a different tune.

It is also worth adding that this has been another opportunity for slashdot conservatives to proudly display their participation in the conservative war on literacy, which they did not let slip by.
Slashback

Journal Journal: This Town Deserves A Better Class of Troll

It's rather sad that this is the best we have now. Granted, the other guy could dramatically improve his act by following all his comments with fart jokes, but the better act sucks too. Comparing these two is somewhat like comparing the kid who calls a random number on the phone and asks about their refrigerator to the kid who calls numbers he knows and recites Bart Simpson prank calls.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Welcome back, SlashPot (thank you failure machine samzenpus) 39

I guess "failure machine" samzenpus really will post anything.

Now, before the Pro Pot Propaganda Pushers here start calling me a fascist, let me point out where my criticism is. This is about how samzenpus failed to even approach a useful summary of the article that the summary linked to - which I will point out is freely available to everyone. In particular, because failure machine couldn't be bothered to read the article, he missed:

Nevertheless, as previously stressed, our findings should not be interpreted that moderate alcohol consumption poses a higher risk to an individual and their close contacts than regular heroin use14. Much of the harm from drug use is not inherently related to consumption, but is heavily influenced by the environmental conditions of the drug use2, and this additional hazard is not included in a drug ranking based on (animal) toxicology.

The first major problem of the approach is the lack of toxicological dose-response data for all compounds except alcohol and tobacco. No human dose-response data are available; also no dose-response data in animals, only LD50 values are published. Furthermore, no chronic-toxicity data (long-term experiments) are available, which are usually used for such kinds of risk assessment. Therefore, we can assess only in regards to mortality but not carcinogenicity or other long-term effects. The absence of such data is specifically relevant for compounds with low acute toxicity (such as cannabis), the risk of which may therefore be underestimated.

In other words, the study was looking to see how much of a substance was required to kill you immediately. They mentioned very few substances have known limits for that. They also went on to mention that cannabis in particular is not studied much from a toxicology standpoint when compared to other drugs:

The second major problem is the uncertainty in data about individual and population-wide exposure due to the illegal markets. There is a scarcity of epidemiological studies of cannabis use by comparison with epidemiological studies of alcohol and tobacco use

Indeed, I agree with their closing remark:

Currently, the MOE results point to risk management prioritization towards alcohol and tobacco rather than illicit drugs. The high MOE values of cannabis, which are in a low-risk range, suggest a strict legal regulatory approach rather than the current prohibition approach.

Not that the propagandists here on slashdot would bother to read that far.

Republicans

Journal Journal: How long until I'm down-moderated for that one? 7

I've noticed it is - for no good reason - popular to down moderate journal entry comments. Apparently some people find that it is just too much to ask people to read all 12 comments in a JE discussion, they should be able to easily exclude opinions they don't like based on moderation score alone.

In that vein, I share that I wrote a comment in a conservative JE discussion . In it, I was so bold as to read sources, cite sources, and do other such terrible things.

Clearly, this is flamebait and deserves to be moderated thusly. It would be terrible if anyone were to read it. I've heard there are times when upwards of 8 people read a single JE before it is automatically closed for discussion.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Not Surprised In The Least 15

I found myself subjected to Rush Limbaugh for a few moments this afternoon (never before have I felt more urge to shout in a car just to drown out ambient noise). What little I was able to tolerate he spent pleasuring himself over the announcement of Jon Stewart announcing his upcoming departure from the Daily Show.

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I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

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