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Paper_jam

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Everything posted by Paper_jam

  1. This gripe especially applies to online news, but print journalism as well. It's maddening how many news articles leave out critical details or information. You see reports about proposed or adopted legislation that don't identify the bill number or author. You see accident reports that have no real description of the persons, vehicles, or locations involved, or who is at fault. Crime coverage is the worst: the articles are so generic you can't even tell what really happened. A good news report should include enough detail so the reader can form a complete picture of the events in their mind. If you read a modern news article about a murder, it will go something like: "Police apprehended a person of interest after a body was found Tuesday night on the sidewalk in the 7000 block of Shipley Road. The cause of death is under investigation. A police spokesperson said the death is believed to be an isolated incident and is not a continuing threat to the public." If you read a newspaper article in 1955 about the same incident, it would read something like this: "Police arrested a male suspect, Jonathan Frakes, 29, a white man, in connection with the murder of Jennifer Jones Jackson, 22, of Pflugerville, an unmarried woman. Jackson's body was found at 10:18 PM Tuesday, on the sidewalk just outside Franklin Sporting Goods store at 7216 Shipley Road. The body had deep stab wounds to the torso and the victims' upper clothing had been removed. Police said that Frakes did not previously know the victim, but went into a murderous rage when the victim made a gesture which implied he had a small penis. This reporter interviewed a neighbor living in an apartment adjacent to Mr. Frakes' , Mr. Jake Moss, who stated that it was well known within the building that Frakes had a tendency to react violently to any sign of disrespect. Frakes was taken to Travis County Jail for holding, his arraignment is scheduled for Monday." It's like news today is intentionally sanitized to be free of details like motives, timelines, relationships, everything that would make it interesting.
  2. If, 50 or 100 years from now, there are fragmented remnants of humanity still eking out an existence in the After Times, I hope they build shittoriums where they defecate on monuments/effigies/pictures of all the people in power who let it happen--no, more like actively worked to ensure that it happened.
  3. Those water temps are scary, End of Days shit. If the ocean currents get weird and/or the marine ecosystem crashes it's game over, man.
  4. Yeah, I can't stand Rummy but I think he was pretty much on point with that quip.
  5. It seems like there should be a market for a new airline that isn't luxury, but provides just enough consideration for the customer to approximate the experience of air travel in the '80s or '90s. Like you get a free checked bag, one or two inches of extra leg and hip room, a simple free meal like a sandwich and a complimentary beverage (whole can). And free wifi and in-flight entertainment. It seems like someone could offer all of that with only a very modest increase in fares. And, if you could add to all that a rule that no kids under 5 are allowed, people would beat a path to your door. Is there no legal way to operate a baby/toddler-free airline, or is that doomed to get crushed under some kind of EEOC lawsuit? What if you structured your airline as a private club that requires membership?
  6. Just another example of the right pursuing actions and policies that result in outcomes that are directly the opposite of what they claim to be seeking. ERIC must have been finding too many fraudulent registrations on the (R) side. When Republicans talk about election security, what they really mean is making sure they have enough control over the process to guarantee or manufacture the desired outcome regardless of what the people actually want.
  7. It doesn't help that (when I was picked up at ABIA two weeks ago) there were lots of cars parked along the pickup zones, clearly waiting for people in the terminal still going thru baggage claim, etc. These idling assholes blocked the curbspace needed for people who were actually at the curb ready to get picked up.
  8. This isn't an "expansion" issue but I'll take this opportunity to gripe about the restrooms at ABIA (and at most large airports). When you finish your business and you need to wash up, there is NO PLACE near the sinks to hang your coat, or put your briefcase down, to keep it from getting wet/dirty etc. If I was designing an airport bathroom I'd include lots of hooks and shelves and surfaces you could rest/hang things on. But it seems to be an intentional design trend to not have ANY surfaces other than the disgusting wet countertop or (worse) the floor. Even the paper towel dispensers and hand dryers are designed with rounded, sloping contours so you can't rest anything on top of them. Is there a name for a design ethos that is intentionally inconvenient and inflexible? Also, to whom it may concern: please stop with gimmicky airport restaurants. When I travel I want affordable, quick, tasty, calorie dense food. If it reflects local cuisine that's great, but I don't want airport sushi. I don't want a "breakfast taco" made with egg whites, organic yogurt, and a gluten free tortilla. Some of these weird airport restaurants must be laundering cartel money or something.
  9. Almost midnight, and going outside is like getting hit in the face by a hot wet fart. NWS current conditions shows heat index is 98 F.
  10. I wonder if this tax deal will save me enough money to enjoy, say, a Whatameal(tm) combo once a week.
  11. Fucking American Taliban busybodies. MYOFB.
  12. There's a donut hole in the storm right over where I live
  13. The important thing is we're all now free to drive our shitbox cars down to the bare cords in the radial tires. Working brakes, headlights & signals? Fuck 'em--that's for woke soyboys.
  14. Don't you mean fewer and fewer?
  15. How can the people who wave the biggest flags and have "America #1" bumper stickers support politicians and policies that are openly contemptuous of democracy and the principle that everyone has an equal right to vote?
  16. The northern part of that storm was headed my way but when it got like a mile away it hit a wall and died.
  17. I don't like sounding un-progressive but maybe some people actually do need to be locked up.
  18. Aw man, Centennial is gone now? That was my OG liquor source. Burger Tex is still there, right? It's been a few years since I walked the Drag. I should go back and hit all my old spots--Players, Sound Exchange, Quacks, Le Fun, Einsteins, the Cadeau, Tower....
  19. I don't even have a kid! If parents get $8000 to NOT send a kid to public school, where's MY money?
  20. What's Texas going to be like after one or two more sessions like this? Criswell Predicts: Reverse income tax (those with incomes over $1 million get a taxpayer-funded bonus for being "job creators") Homestead tax caps --homes with values exceeding $1 million have taxes capped at that value. Compelled daily recitation of the State Pledge, Pledge of Allegiance, and Lord's Prayer Public school teachers* must also be a certified weapons instructor and an ordained priest/pastor (*Most current public schools will have been converted to reprogramming centers for "treatment" of LGBT persons) Public university degree plans must be "sponsored" by a corporate donor related to that field of study Voting eligibility limited to white cis hetero male landowners living in counties with under 25,000 people. Municipal officials in cities > 10,000 people will be appointed by the Legislature. Mandatory carry of firearms (if caught unarmed, civilians will pay a Protection Service Fee to fund police and border patrol) Free fire zones along border where civilians can hunt undocumented immigrants for sport All roads tolled (triple rate for electric cars and hybrids) All internet porn blocked Draconian sentences for drug and street crime; no penalties for financial, environmental, or tax crimes, or naked corruption Abortion, contraception, and extramarital sex will be illegal. Married couples will be required to engage in state-supervised reproductive sessions at least twice a year unless the woman is certified to be pregnant or past menopause. Women over 25 and men over 30 but still unmarried will be assigned a husband/wife by the State.
  21. Do Republicans not understand that having unsafe vehicles on the road is not only a threat to the owner of said unsafe vehicle, but is also a threat to everyone else using the road? "Party of personal responsibility" my rotten oozing ass. Why even have driver licensing or speed limits or registration or insurance requirements, I WANT MY FREEDOMS DONT TREAD ON ME
  22. KXAN article: Parents left without answers after physicians at Dell Children’s Adolescent Medicine clinic ‘depart’ https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/parents-left-without-answers-after-physicians-at-dell-childrens-adolescent-medicine-clinic-depart/
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