Open Thread

I keep looking for stuff but I can't find anything. I don't know whether to post real news, which is horrible, or something nice.

I guess this is horrible -- Greece out of cash; economy crashing -- but on the plus side, it's not the US.

I mean, that won't come for like 10, 12 years.

"That's okay! In 10-12 years, I'll be dead!"

Posted by: Ace at 06:19 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 foist!

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at July 03, 2015 06:21 PM (+OXwX)

2 hah!

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at July 03, 2015 06:21 PM (+OXwX)

3 It won't be long for us at the rate we're going.

Posted by: scif at July 03, 2015 06:21 PM (t+ssG)

4 5, 7?

Posted by: eman at July 03, 2015 06:22 PM (MQEz6)

5 10 or 12 years. Aw Ace, you starry-eyed optimist.

Posted by: kraken at July 03, 2015 06:23 PM (sdxPm)

6 "I mean, that won't come for like 10, 12 years."

You hope.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at July 03, 2015 06:23 PM (R0zw4)

7 Maybe we need to send the Greeks some Trojans....condoms that is. So they stop reproducing.

Posted by: LGoPs at July 03, 2015 06:26 PM (LHsWS)

8 Take the rest of the week off, Ace.

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 03, 2015 06:27 PM (mvenn)

9 We are all Greece. Just Greece X .09

Which reminds me of the two guys walking through the countryside story. They spot a bear. One guy slips to the ground and starts putting on sneakers.

'Are you crazy? ' says Mr. StreetShoes. 'You can't outrun a bear.'

Mr Sneakers replies, as the bear begins to run in their direction, 'I don't have to outrun the bear. '

Posted by: se pa moron at July 03, 2015 06:27 PM (xQX/f)

10 I bought the newest DC animated video today. Batman vs. Robin. Going to be watching it shortly.

Posted by: buzzion at July 03, 2015 06:28 PM (zt+N6)

11 Hey, anyone see the GIF of that cat that just slaps everything off the counter, saying fuck this, fuck that too, fuck this, fuck it all, etc?

That's pretty much me now.

Posted by: Let This Shit Burn Already at July 03, 2015 06:29 PM (rTG3v)

12 Something nice?

Some July 4th food ideas from the all-American Pioneer Woman (or just look at the pretty pictures):

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/

Posted by: Lizzy at July 03, 2015 06:31 PM (NOIQH)

13 for stuff but I can't find anything.

That long void between the shark attacks and the real disaster.

Posted by: DaveA at July 03, 2015 06:31 PM (DL2i+)

14 Nobody know the tribbles I've seen. Takei just apologized.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at July 03, 2015 06:33 PM (W5DcG)

15 Just watched the second episode of True Detective. Jeez, I hope Colin Farrell got paid for the whole season up front.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 03, 2015 06:34 PM (JJ9UW)

16 I think Ace added the puppy pic so that one of us told him to knock off early. He's earned it.

*crickets*

Posted by: se pa moron at July 03, 2015 06:34 PM (xQX/f)

17 Depends on what you mean by "that won't come." What is coming is a crash ("adjustment") of the stock market, possibly because of what is going on in Europe and China.

If that happens, there are no radical relief remedies left. The Fed has been using the 0% strategy for eight years. They also did QE for too many years with too little effect.

Meanwhile, because of the 0% policy, it is impossible to save any money. You cannot put money into a savings account and not lose money due to inflation. And retirement accounts are screwed. It's the stock market or loss.

So the Fed is putting all its cards, intentionally or not, on the stock market and the high rollers. And the stock market is ready to crash.

Posted by: Caliban at July 03, 2015 06:35 PM (3GFMN)

18 News on the the interwebz (R. Fernandez, actually) is that the Federal Reserve has Greek Debt all over its bib, so ten or twelve years sounds like a decade too much to me.

Posted by: Grey Fox at July 03, 2015 06:35 PM (a42f0)

19 That puppy is so cute. We just took our "puppy" to Culvers for some ice cream. She got to ride in the front seat too. She's getting older and losing her ability to walk so we spoil her from time to time, by which I mean whenever possible.

Posted by: johnd01 at July 03, 2015 06:36 PM (VGqjW)

20 I think I might read "The Full Catastrophe: Travels Among the New Greek Ruins Hardcover" about how and why the Greeks are where the are, an Island full of "blind" people so they can get an extra money not including the kickbacks to Gov official who declared them blind. No wonder they are broke

When we went on our honeymoon to Greece, we saw all these unfinished houses, our tour guide said that unfinished houses did not get taxed.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 06:37 PM (CxEX+)

21 I don't have the fcuk that kitty gif, but this might work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmE6n0HBojc

Posted by: Lizzy at July 03, 2015 06:37 PM (NOIQH)

22 I guess this is horrible -- Greece out of cash; economy crashing -- but on the plus side, it's not the US.

Is it really "horrible"?

I don't think so.

It's kind of like watching something finally happen that should have happened long ago, and its incompleteness was bothersome.

Imagine, say, a boulder precariously balanced on a pinnacle, and it looks like the wind could topple it over at any moment.

You look at it and you look at it, and while perhaps you are marveling that it stays upright, deep inside you are waiting, waiting for it to finally topple over, because the scenario remains unresolved and the human psyche can't tolerate incompleteness.

So when it finally topples over, you say to yourself, "Ahhhh -- at last! The universe is once again at peace with itself and things are as they should be," even though you also know that a beautiful thing was just destroyed.

That's how it is with Greece finally collapsing. The balancing act that just would end was becoming bothersome in the extreme; you wanted socialist policies to collapse and be expose at the sham that they are, even if it meant you had to witness a beautiful thing -- the land of Greece -- ruined.

Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 06:39 PM (jBuUi)

23 Yesterday Alan Grayson was ranting about the "black church arsons" on Twitter.
I sent a tweet stating not all were black or arson and called him a mental patient. Betting I'm blocked now. Heh.

Posted by: Tilikum Killer Assault Whale at July 03, 2015 06:39 PM (F0Cog)

24 Yes, Greece is in shambles.

Oops, I misspelled 'China'

http://preview.tinyurl.com/pmd5c6e

30% market blowoff in the last week-ish.

Posted by: Methos at July 03, 2015 06:40 PM (ZbV+0)

25 The balancing act that just would end
=
The balancing act that just would NOT end

Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 06:40 PM (jBuUi)

26 Can't stand to open CNN website right now, with Obama and that great big sh*t eating smile, much rather look at a puppy anytime!

Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 06:41 PM (WQLtV)

27 So I guess short of a major terror attack, there is no news till Monday?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at July 03, 2015 06:41 PM (/tNwW)

28 I posted this in the earlier thread.The priorities of our intelligence agency.

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/209939/

Posted by: steevy at July 03, 2015 06:41 PM (sPO3u)

29 Greece just didn't do socialism right.

Posted by: The usual leftist apologists at July 03, 2015 06:41 PM (Dwehj)

30 That story about the TARGET2 system in the EU was very interesting. Apparently the business transactions in the EU are routed thru the central banks. Since the Greek central bank has no money, none of the importers can get a bill of sale completed. Imports of food and other materials are on hold.

We should have a system like that here.

Posted by: SpongeBobSaget at July 03, 2015 06:41 PM (zauWW)

31 30% market blowoff in the last week-ish.

That's OK, their investments in Vancouver real estate are up 20% since last year.

Posted by: irrational exuberance at July 03, 2015 06:42 PM (XQAFW)

32 !0 - 12 years Eh?

That would be wishful thinking if your 65 or older,
fact is it could come at anytime , anytime the Grand Masters are ready.....

Some here will not go peacefully in the night...
But after the late 60's and 70's reeducation programs, there will not be much derision in the populace, but enough still to make it uncomfortable for the Star Fleet commanders.
If your right about the 10-12 years then not a popcorn fart of resistance.

Posted by: Ernest Stone at July 03, 2015 06:43 PM (/WmRg)

33 The only things that come out of Greece are second rate olive oil, bad cheese, back hair from the woman for wig making and sodomy.
Sounds like a lovely place.

Posted by: Not a Fag at July 03, 2015 06:43 PM (JG47A)

34 Awww, puppy! Just like in the safe space at my university!

Posted by: Commissar M at July 03, 2015 06:43 PM (KSF9t)

35 So when it finally topples over, you say to yourself, "Ahhhh --
at last! The universe is once again at peace with itself and things are
as they should be," even though you also know that a beautiful thing was
just destroyed.

*greets zombie in the grand reception hall of LiB*

Posted by: Methos at July 03, 2015 06:44 PM (ZbV+0)

36 Well in order for that to happen in the US, they would have to:

1- Lower the minimuum retirement age;
2- Stuff public services with at least 40 chiefs of staff;
3- Corruption would have to be so rampant to the point that the IRS just won't even colect taxes;
4- Unemployment benefits so good that people will prefer to stay unemployed;
5- Keep sending pension checks to deceased people;
6- Said pensions are also incredibly high;
7- Jackasses in power like Tsipras who thinks it's everybody else's fault;

Posted by: Carlos at July 03, 2015 06:44 PM (G0zje)

37 Greece may have collapsed, but it goes right over the head of most people.
And the left never gives up.

Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 06:44 PM (WQLtV)

38 Almost every dog or cat you see in film is dead.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 03, 2015 06:45 PM (iQIUe)

39
35 So when it finally topples over, you say to yourself, "Ahhhh --
at last! The universe is once again at peace with itself and things are
as they should be," even though you also know that a beautiful thing was
just destroyed.

*greets zombie in the grand reception hall of LiB*
Posted by: Methos at July 03, 2015 06:44 PM (ZbV+0)

Thermodynamics rules all.

Posted by: eman at July 03, 2015 06:46 PM (MQEz6)

40 @27 The attack only comes if you fail to fulfill the enemy's sexual expectations.
Why destroy us if we're compliant?
Temporary "marriages" with boys? Check.
Girls with no clitorises, removed crudely by their families, female sexual pleasure just absolutely discounted? Check.
Socialistic redistribution of results of economic effort? You live in the Glorious Nine-county People's Soviet of MN, aka the "Met Council"? Check.

Posted by: Steve White at July 03, 2015 06:47 PM (xK1uz)

41 Almost every dog or cat you see in film is dead.

How do they get them to move so realistically?

Posted by: Salem Saberhagen at July 03, 2015 06:47 PM (XQAFW)

42 but it goes right over the head of most people

If it's not the CBF, rainbow marriage or the Kardashians, we don't give a rat's ass.

Posted by: LIVs at July 03, 2015 06:47 PM (Dwehj)

43 'So when it finally topples over, you say to yourself,"Ahhhh -- at last!'

Kinda like pulling a splinter. And then immediatly getting anotger one.

Posted by: freaked at July 03, 2015 06:47 PM (BO/km)

44 Gah. Cant type. I blame Friday.

Posted by: freaked at July 03, 2015 06:48 PM (BO/km)

45 In 10-12 years a lot of us will be dead. Some from the unavailability of medical care, some from starvation, some from violence, all of which are on the way. Don't doubt me. I hope to give a good account of myself and fight to the end.

Posted by: Eromero at July 03, 2015 06:48 PM (go5uR)

46 I mean, that won't come for like 10, 12 years.

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

Posted by: Darth Math at July 03, 2015 06:48 PM (rwI+c)

47 The only things that come out of Greece are second rate olive oil, bad cheese, back hair from the woman for wig making and sodomy.
Sounds like a lovely place.
Posted by: Not a Fag at July 03, 2015 06:43 PM (JG47A)

You forgot about Lesbians

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 06:49 PM (CxEX+)

48 17 The Fed has been using the 0% strategy for eight years. They also did QE for too many years with too little effect.

Meanwhile, because of the 0% policy, it is impossible to save any money. You cannot put money into a savings account and not lose money due to inflation. And retirement accounts are screwed. It's the stock market or loss.

So the Fed is putting all its cards, intentionally or not, on the stock market and the high rollers. And the stock market is ready to crash.
Posted by: Caliban

Socialism usually starts with a big pile of money (created by the previous economic regime) and goes down down down as they burn through it, and then they finally crash -- never to arise again.

But capitalism is cyclical, endlessly cyclical. It goes up, then goes down -- then goes up again.

So the process you describe is indeed happening, but unlike with Greece it's not the end of the story. From the coming crash, the US economy will rise again -- because try as he might, Obama still hasn't managed to destroy capitalism quite yet.

It's much more resilient than the American crypto-commies even imagined.

If FDR couldn't destroy it...if Carter couldn't destroy it...if Obama couldn't destroy it...American capitalism simply may be indestructible after all.

Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 06:49 PM (jBuUi)

49 So what happens to Bruce's dong if he does cut it off? Do they send it to pathology? Does he get to take it home in a glass jar filled with formaldehyde?

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 03, 2015 06:49 PM (iQIUe)

50 That's how it is with Greece finally collapsing. The balancing act that just would end was becoming bothersome in the extreme; you wanted socialist policies to collapse and be expose at the sham that they are, even if it meant you had to witness a beautiful thing -- the land of Greece -- ruined.

There is also the satisfaction of having yourself proved to be one of Lord Melbourne's "damned fools."

Posted by: Grey Fox at July 03, 2015 06:50 PM (a42f0)

51
Almost every dog or cat you see in film is dead.

Sad to say, including my pets of the past years. Still remember Jack the hound dog could find a rabbit on 10 acres of land.

Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 06:50 PM (WQLtV)

52 That puppy will be someone's dinner in 5 years.

Posted by: Dr Spank at July 03, 2015 06:50 PM (o5l5p)

53
That puppy will be someone's dinner in 5 years.

In China...

Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 06:51 PM (WQLtV)

54 I mean, that won't come for like 10, 12 years.

12 years puts us at $30T in debt, close to half of the GWP.

No way we make it that far.

Posted by: Grump928(C) at July 03, 2015 06:51 PM (rwI+c)

55 Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 06:49 PM (jBuUi)

Maybe, but it depends on what you mean by collapse.

The collapse will prompt some folks to push the Riot button; then what?

Posted by: eman at July 03, 2015 06:53 PM (MQEz6)

56 Bruce you seem to be preoccupied with something? What's wong?

Posted by: freaked at July 03, 2015 06:54 PM (BO/km)

57
53
That puppy will be someone's dinner in 5 years.

In China...
Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 06:51 PM (WQLtV)

In Boston.

Posted by: eman at July 03, 2015 06:54 PM (MQEz6)

58 38 Almost every dog or cat you see in film is dead.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang!
----------------------------
Still here, bitches!

Posted by: Abe Vigoda at July 03, 2015 06:56 PM (LbjC3)

59 That puppy will be someone's dinner in 5 years.

Or, in 5 days.

Posted by: Prez'nit Purina at July 03, 2015 06:57 PM (Dwehj)

60 @47 I really hate to remonstrate with fellow morons, but Greece, as everywhere, has their share, (and has had) of folks who believe Good comes from the State, and not Providence + Sweat.
This is as old as the transition from nomads to settled people. The division of labor began when some people preferred to fuck their daughters and make necklaces while others ran down prey and found spouses who wanted that, too.
Asia Minor, much, Fools?

Posted by: Steve White at July 03, 2015 07:00 PM (xK1uz)

61 The collapse will prompt some folks to push the Riot button; then what?
Posted by: eman

Then people will riot.

And then the riots will end.

And then life rebuilds in a ring around the burnt-out city centers.

Shrug. Why is rioting seen as some end-of-civiliation thing? It isn't.

People forget just how many mass city-ruining riots there were in the '60s.

Check it out:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_riots#1960s

Rochester
New York City
Philadelphia
Watts (LA)
Newark
Detroit
Minneapolis
Chicago
Washington, DC
Baltimore
Cleveland
...and more, all had major days-long rioting at one point or another. Much much worse than what happens these days.

And guess what? Society -- and the economy -- just kept rollin' along.

Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 07:00 PM (jBuUi)

62 They cut off all the dongs and put them in a Penis Museum
And they charged people a dollar-an-a-half to see 'em!

Posted by: joni mitchell-buffy carpenter ste-marie at July 03, 2015 07:00 PM (kivUY)

63 I will say that that puppy does look delicious.

Posted by: Dr Spank at July 03, 2015 07:02 PM (o5l5p)

64 If it's not the CBF, rainbow marriage or the Kardashians, we don't give a rat's ass.

Posted by: LIVs at July 03, 2015 06:47 PM (Dwehj)

And they wouldn't know the CBF from the flag of Australia unless the MFM told them it was part of this weeks 2 minutes of hate.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at July 03, 2015 07:03 PM (DiZBp)

65 And please look for my new album, "For Dogs Only".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONxmsuGgKD0

Posted by: joni mitchell-buffy carpenter ste-marie at July 03, 2015 07:04 PM (kivUY)

66 Here's a happy thought , or at least a schadenfreude happy thought . As Puerto Rico follows Greece , a lot of the debt that gets written off is held by all the fat cats living in the progressive world . It's triple tax exempt,( fed state and local income taxes ) , so it ended up in NY/NYC , CT , NJ , ILL etc . Hoist upon their own petard .

Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at July 03, 2015 07:04 PM (uvj0z)

67 They cut off all the dongs and put them in a Penis Museum

And they charged people a dollar-an-a-half to see 'em!

Maybe John Holmes, Who I just googled and saw more than I want to see....

Posted by: Colin at July 03, 2015 07:04 PM (WQLtV)

68 If you hated your willy so much that it was like some kind of growth that had to be cut off would you keep it around in a jar like some kind of weird tumor?

Posted by: freaked at July 03, 2015 07:06 PM (BO/km)

69 @66 Money covers.
You pay.
Why?
Because Government is not limited.
Ya wanna be an Angel (pace the Federalist Papers) in government? Have you successfully defeated a bull in even combat on the open field? No?
Best move to Cook County, IL, or similar, where the bottom fags rule.

Posted by: Steve White at July 03, 2015 07:07 PM (xK1uz)

70 It's not a tumah!

Posted by: kindergarten governor at July 03, 2015 07:08 PM (kivUY)

71 Hell no I like my willy. I will not put it in a jar.

Posted by: freaked at July 03, 2015 07:08 PM (BO/km)

72 For those who don't know:

During male-to-female sex change surgery, they don't actually "chop off" the penis. What they do is actually much more bizarre than you'd expect:

First, they cut of the balls.

They, they slice open the penis lengthwise and (brace yourself) hollow it out, leaving an empty tube of penis skin.

Then they start coring out a hole where the shaft of the penis enters into the body, removing all the interior penis material and in the process making a cave where the inner-dick used to be.

Then, finally, they invert the hollowed-out empty penis skin into the cave, and sew it into place.

This way, the new "vagina" actually can have some "sensation" in it since the inside of the hole is the former outside of the penis.

Separately, an artificial pee-hole is created from the remnants of the urethra.

Science!

Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 07:14 PM (jBuUi)

73 Nood, ace on Vox.
Losers.

Posted by: kindergarten governor at July 03, 2015 07:16 PM (kivUY)

74 Thanks, zombie.

I'm going to go vomit now.

Posted by: Methos at July 03, 2015 07:17 PM (ZbV+0)

75 Posted by: zombie at July 03, 2015 07:00 PM (jBuUi)

Depends on the scale and duration.

Posted by: eman at July 03, 2015 07:19 PM (MQEz6)

76 11 To: Let that shit burn, already

Do you have a link to the GIF? I need to see that pretty soon. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Posted by: NCwoof at July 03, 2015 07:19 PM (aUQgu)

77 Watching Sherrif Callie with my son, What a Facist Sherrif, you get arrested if you friendly or happy, you must conform, what a great lesson.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 07:26 PM (CxEX+)

78 @17 Caliban

"And the stock market is ready to crash."

And it will come "unexpectedly" to those in high office.

Tangible assets (gold, ground, guns) should be where your money is going unless you want to stuff your mattress with depreciated greenbacks.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at July 03, 2015 07:28 PM (R0zw4)

79 Is that 10, 12 dog years?!?

Posted by: scrood at July 03, 2015 07:29 PM (3b9U4)

80 Oops unfriendly or unHappy

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 07:30 PM (CxEX+)

81 78 @17 Caliban

"And the stock market is ready to crash."

And it will come "unexpectedly" to those in high office.

Tangible assets (gold, ground, guns) should be where your money is going unless you want to stuff your mattress with depreciated greenbacks.
Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at July 03, 2015 07:28 PM (R0zw4)

Don't forget Whiskey, had this conversation before but somebody mentioned you can't store Vodka for long?

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 07:33 PM (CxEX+)

82 @61 zombie

"And guess what? Society -- and the economy -- just kept rollin' along."

Riots are entertainment and an opportunity to loot. Cut the utiliites and stop all deliveries into the neighborhood for a couple of days and riots dissolve as most burn out within 48 hours.

Posted by: Buckeye Abroad at July 03, 2015 07:56 PM (R0zw4)

83 Don't forget Whiskey, had this conversation before but somebody mentioned you can't store Vodka for long?

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at July 03, 2015 07:33 PM
________

That's correct. I can't.

Posted by: FireHorse at July 03, 2015 08:25 PM (5uT4Y)

84 So how exactly could the us run out of money? Unlike Greece, every US treasury note, bill and bond is denominated in a currency which the same US is the sovereign issuer of. The only way for the US to run out of dollars would be for us to choose to do so. We never will.

It would be really helpful that instead of saying stupid things we talk intelligently about what our deficits actually mean. Its not solvency, it never will be a solvency issue, unlike Greece.

Posted by: Jeffrey at July 03, 2015 09:04 PM (3ZKaX)

85 45 In 10-12 years a lot of us will be dead. Some from the unavailability of medical care, some from starvation, some from violence, all of which are on the way. Don't doubt me. I hope to give a good account of myself and fight to the end.

Remember what Churchill said: "You can always take one with you."

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at July 03, 2015 09:08 PM (VBbCO)

86 84: Wrong. You're saying we'll simply print money (electronic equivalent) to cover the inability to make debt payments. Actually that is techinically illegal under the law (and don't hand me any horseshit about minting trillion dollars coins).

To do that, the Fed would have to play ball and willingly agree to wantonly, whoreishly, monetize debt. It might well do it, mind you, and my own opinion is Washington will do anything to avoid running out of cash.

Absent Fed collusion, the only way for Washington to start raw wanton printing would be to change the law. There are limits on how much coinage they can emit. The creation of Federal Reserve Notes and the electronic equivalent is entirely the province of the Fed. The US Treasury, legally, cannot force the Fed to create more of them, nor create them on its won. That is, if you follow the law as it stands.

And when the start such wanton printing, collapse is guaranteed. See Weimar and similar. I know some don't believe that is possible, but it is.

So we will default one way or the other. Either by running out of money to roll over and borrow more debt, or by having lots of worthless dollars. Zero dollars of finite value or finite dollars of zero value. That is a default either way.

Posted by: publius (not Breitbart publius) at July 03, 2015 09:19 PM (dvuhZ)

87 The stock market is going to crash if a republican gets into office. Thats when our overlords will allow the fall.

Posted by: BacktoGA at July 03, 2015 10:29 PM (Fllc9)

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