Spoiler Alert

Brilliant April Fool's parody of liberals eating their own over a contest regarding the ethics of eating meat.  Huge props for self-awareness to Kathleen Geier of The Political Animal.

HMM: These people stole a march on April Fool's.  March 30, in fact.

Too fast for the house, or anyway, for me.

Comments

[Gmax]

First, April

[peter]

I play the fool.

John Lennon

[Jane]

Speaking of April Fools Day, this morning around 8:30 when I was about 40 miles from home, Amy's kids called me and said:

"Auntee Jane, we can't find Momma and Mommy."

I asked for how long?

"About an hour".

I was beside myself, nearly missed my exit and almost drove off the road.

Then came the very loud: "April Fools"

Indeed.

[Clarice]

Ha ha ha ha ha.

Who cares who's on the panel or what they think? I'm eating meat and the hell with it.

[bgates]

As Carol has pointed out, there is an entire alternative tradition that explores issues associated with meat eating based on feminist insights

A tradition which I believe began here.

[Jack is Back!]

That column of the The Ethicist just made me hungry for a nice Steak Tartare, my favorite red meat dish. Mrs. JiB makes it with ground un-marbled tenderloin. Top it off with twice-fried frites (Fries) served with mayonaisse and now we are talking real meat.

[sbw]

"based on feminist insights"

If I understand correctly, an insight by a male is not necessarily worth consideration and an insight by a female not only is, it trumps others by sheer identity.

Why am I not convinced?

[Jack is Back!]

Biden thinks the Supreme Ct. will uphold his BFD.

[josecuervo]

Like father, like son?

[Rob Crawford]

Anyone else using adblock?

What do you think of their replacing ads with cats? I hope this is only an April Fool's Day thing.

[Danube of Thought]

Best case I can make for eating meat is that I find it delicious. At that point the inquiry ends.

[Threadkiller]

Meat is renewable, so eating it is the green thing to do.

[henry]

If evolution didn't want us to have meat for dinner, it wouldn't have given us incisors. Don't these people believe in science?

[AliceH]

Rob - I use adblock (Firefox browser), but I don't see cats. Looks the same as ever to me.

[boris]

Ew ... I never eat green meat.

[Danube of Thought]

Republicans Reveal that Entire Presidential Race was a Prank

April Fool’s Day Announcement Brings Practical Joke to an End

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In an April Fool’s Day announcement that took the political world by storm, the Republican Party revealed today that its entire presidential race had been an elaborate prank.

“April Fool!” exclaimed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum at a press conference in Washington, where they were joined by fellow merrymakers Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain.

Moments after revealing that the GOP primary had been one long practical joke, Mr. Santorum explained the rationale behind staging such a complicated and expensive prank.

“A lot of Americans are suffering right now and need a good laugh,” he said.  “I think my colleagues and I can be justifiably proud of the entertainment we provided – even if it meant me wearing these ridiculous sweater vests.”

Former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain agreed that the prank had gone well, but added, “I’m just amazed that the American people never figured out we were kidding.”

“I mean, I kept saying ‘9-9-9’ every four seconds, which was total and utter bullshit,” he said.  “And everything out of Michele’s mouth made her sound like a mental patient.”

“True that,” Rep. Bachmann agreed.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said he worried that “every time I screwed up at a debate people would figure out I was pulling their legs,” but added, “The American people seemed to accept the idea that a Governor of Texas could be a blithering idiot.”

When one reporter mentioned that Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) was not at the press conference, a sudden silence fell over the gathering.

“Did anyone ever tell Ron this was supposed to be a prank?” Mr. Romney asked.  “Holy cow, maybe he’s really serious.”  

[Rick Ballard]

Gmax,

Pasmussen has a poll out today showing continued movment of the electorate towards a higher level of trust in the GOP wrt economic issues. Tomorrow he will publish his monthly Partisan Trends numbers which have shown the Democrats closing ranks at historical rates for three months running.

Will the Dems make it four in a row? I think they can do it easily - based upon the President's leadership ability.

[peter]

LUN is a great April Fool's gag.

[Jim,MtnViewCA,USA]

"As someone bringing a critical race perspective to veganism,..."
Couldn't make it any further.

One thing I don't understand.
Here you have these innocent plants. They don't kill to eat-- they mostly consume organic minerals, sunshine and water.
They can't run away from cows or their other predators, they are pretty helpless.
Yet it is OK to eat a plant but bad to eat the cow.

[Ignatz]

--Anyone else using adblock?--

No, and for whatever reason my current ads on both sides are comely Russian dames looking for a spouse/sugar daddy. I'm guessing it's Melinda's fault.
Most of them look somewhat less than trustworthy but it sure beats Alan Grayson and Sherrod Brown.

[bgates]

Rob, the cats are temporary. If you click on them (I think there was a 'click to provide feedback' or something) they go away.

[narciso]

I think the best statement on the subject, in her memoir, 'I love animals, right next to the potatoes on the plate'

[Threadkiller]

This was San Diego's best April fools joke:

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-02/news/mn-18176_1_april-fools-joke

[sbw]

If the "don't eat animals" crowd were at the top of their game, instead of anti-beefeaters, they would be pro-science, working feverishly for a good-tasting, healthy, eco-friendly artificial substitute.

[rain]

Euro Crisis Update:
First, I had an exam in this Pol Sci class that the European Crisis project is due in. I emailed the professor and told him that I saw individuals cheating on the exam and that he should handled it because it is not fair to the rest of the students including me. The way he handled it was not handling it. He decided to allow those individuals that cheated to come to him and report that they cheated on the exam. Are you kidding me? These individuals are not going to come forward and tell you that they cheated!

Second, I have asked this professor several times to explain to me what he wants on these poster presentations over the Euro Crisis and he did not respond to me. Last Thursday he came in and explained that this was an actual academic poster. I was in shock, because I know what goes into an academic poster because I have done one in the past. He expects us to make these posters great in just a few weeks. He is out of his mind! He should have explained this at the very beginning of the semester, so that we could plan accordingly.

Finally, I wanted to thank you all for the information that you have provided. Without it I would be up a creek.

On another note, this task of France and the European Crisis has expanded my knowledge on certain things.

If any of you have any advice on Political Science academic posters and the European Crisis, I would appreciate it a lot. Thank you so much for everything.

( When I said I have done an academic poster before, I meant it was a biological science academic poster. It was just putting facts and findings on a board. I have a feeling that this Pol Sci one will be very different and can be complex.)

[daddy]

This BBC story is a bit sad: Neutrino 'faster than light' scientist resigns

The head of the Science Team that did the experiment which appeared to show neutrino's traveling faster than light, thus undermining Einsteinian physics, has resigned, apparently under pressure from some of his team to leave.

The reason it bums me, if pressure from his team is indeed why he is leaving, is that that experiment and the publication of it's data and conclusions was exactly what we need more of in Science.

From the story:

"Call for caution

Speaking at the time, Professor Ereditato added "words of caution" because of the "potentially great impact on physics" of the result.

"We tried to find all possible explanations for this," he said.

"We wanted to find a mistake - trivial mistakes, more complicated mistakes, or nasty effects - and we didn't.

"When you don't find anything, then you say 'well, now I'm forced to go out and ask the community to scrutinise this'."

And he did. Which allowed thousands of other scientists and laypersons around the world to examine the data, to suggest possible alternate explanations, and to attempt to duplicate the experiment in order to prove or disprove the initial findings.

Exactly what we want from our scientists; no "hiding the decline", no cubby-holing the data and refusing FOIA requests, no cherry-picking data in order to justify a desired conclusion, and no hiding the data and completely shutting up about the experiment because of the potentially embarrassing conclusion.

Instead exactly what should have happened happened. The date was released, the public and scientists pored over it, the experiment was redone by a separate team, and the results ultimately showed that there were errors in the first experiment and that Professor Einstein's "Speed of Light Theory" withstood another challenge. Hurrah!

So what do we do? We tell the Lead Scientist responsible for all that to resign.

If only he'd hidden the data.

Sad:(

[Jack is Back!]

rain,

Concerning Europe and its financial crisis: Drugs come to mind.

How about either a take off on "Just say No" or "This is your brain. This is your brain on OPM"? What Europe is going through is classic addiction and insanity. Both screw up your rational thought processes. Plus connecting mind altering substances with financial instability will only burn a hole in your professor's head:)

[AliceH]

rain - I'm not understanding what "academic poster" means as distinct from some other kind of poster. I doubt I'd have any good ideas for you either way since the thought of pictorial rendering of an idea makes my brain seize.

That said, here's 2 rough ideas that are probably entirely off the mark for what you are trying to do:

Would a x/y graph fit in, showing heights of Euros in vs. Pages of Laws/regulations out? Or
Maybe a flow chart type thing showing money flow from country to Euro govt, then from Euro govt to... where does that all go?

[sbw]

Academic posters are what scholastics have resorted to now that students are unable to string cogently written sentences into paragraphs.

They tend to be illustrated with pretty graphics to draw attention away from the words and to project the certainty of the professor's point of view which Should Never Be Doubted.

[sbw]

Rain, I'm enough of an ass that if the professor did not address cheating in exams, a letter to the Dean of the Faculty or Provost would be in order.

Perhaps it might be wise to wait until you graduate and then explain to the first alumni fund solicitor who tries to hit you up that you refuse to donate until they show that the faculty takes academic credibility seriously.

[AliceH]

sbw - thanks for the explanation. Sounds like the equivalent of what happened in my job, where I used to write feasibility studies, business and technical requirements documents, and regular status reports, but am now asked to do everything in powerpoint. Words cannot express how much I hate that. Maybe I ought to put it in a slide show... :-)

I must say, I do like making venn diagrams.

[Itcy Finger Rodriguez]

I'm thinking of starting a neighborhood watch program in Chicago, does anyone have any tips?

[sbw]

Chicago? No need. Democrats have been supervising the neighborhoods for years. Including the cemeteries.

[Mustang0302]

I'm thinking of starting a neighborhood watch program in Chicago, does anyone have any tips?

Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

[Extraneus]

Many moons ago, I took my parents out to an expensive restaurant. Not knowing what it was, but because it sounded highfalutin, I ordered the venison tartar with fried quail eggs as an appetizer.

Don't think I've ever tried anything so disgusting.

[Neo]

And now you can see why tighter ozone regulation would actually have created jobs: it would have forced firms to spend on upgrading or replacing equipment, helping to boost demand. Yes, it would have cost money — but that’s the point! And with corporations sitting on lots of idle cash, the money spent would not, to any significant extent, come at the expense of other investment.

[Ignatz]

--I'm thinking of starting a neighborhood watch program in Chicago, does anyone have any tips?--

Absolutely.
Only shoot white or white/hispanic guys who are pounding your head into the concrete.
If the dude's black you're better off takin one for the team and getting it over with.

[Rick Ballard]

"Rain, I'm enough of an ass that if the professor did not address cheating in exams, a letter to the Dean of the Faculty or Provost would be in order."

Oh, double ixnay, SBW. It's a PoliSci session in an indoctrination center. If Rain says a doubleplusungood word about the brain dead professor she risks being assigned to the two leg group for the duration. The professor has explicitly announced the value of the class and his own personal value to Rain. Why shouldn't she accept the professor's valuation of himself? I'd suggest a drop and request for refund.

Rain,

If you decide to stick it out with the PoliSci fungus producer, I'd suggest doing your poster research at the ZeroHedge site. The answer that Professor Fungus is looking for is a stronger and less democratic EUtopia with much more power in the hands of non-elected bureaucrats sitting in Brussels.

[Itcy Finger Rodriguez]

What to do about white/black guys? I'm so confused.

[Ignatz]

--What to do about white/black guys? I'm so confused.--

You can shoot white/black guys without fear of repercussion.
But, do not under an circumstances plug a black/white guy or you'll end up chasing him half way across the universe like Frank Gorshin in that Star Trek.

[jimmyk]

On the theory that this is an open thread:

I am now more confident that the SC will throw out Obamacare. Why? Because I just put money down that they won't. My batting average on these bets is .000. Intrade has the probability at 65%, which just seems too high. But I hope I lose.

Disclaimer: None of this should be construed to mean that I actually bet on Intrade, which might be illegal.

[Itcy Finger Rodriguez]

OK, then what about tribbles. Cute and cuddly or cute and deadly?

[Extraneus]

narciso, I'll admit I've been a little slow on the uptake regarding some of your posts, but would you please explain your 3:30 LUN?

[Jane]

Rain,

Make sure this professor isn't going to take your contrariness out on you, or at least make sure you understand the consequences.

[D Olglivy]

Who's hotter: Don Draper or Megan Draper? Will Megan do the housekeeping in her bra and panties again? Did Roger lock up the Coca Cola deal?

Those questions and more answered tonight on the dedicated MM thread at JOM.

[Neo]

The patent being asserted by Sewell and his crew is USPTO Patent #1,042,012, first granted to the American Mathematical Society in October 1912, subsequently renewed, then acquired by Apple at an unknown date.

The first entry among the patent's Claims describes "A quadrilateral having all four interior angles of 90°, opposite sides that are parallel, and congruent diagonals that bisect each other."

Yes, Apple is asserting a patent on the rectangle.

[henry]

Neo--LOL. Yet a good description of software patents as they actually exist.

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

About 12:50 this morning my son called from his job, voice slurring, sounding very stupid, and drunk on his a$$. He says, "Mom, you better call a cab and come get your car." I ask why. He tells me he is being arrested. Then another male voice comes on, identifies himself as a police officer, tells me my son is being arrested for public drunkenness and for taking a swing at a police officer. My heart skipped a beat, my stomach was in my throat. They give me details of where they are taking my son and then say they'll let me talk to him one more time.

David comes back on the phone and in a perfectly sober voice says, "April Fool!"

Two hours later, I think my heartbeat returned to normal.

However, this is the best I've heard so far:

Mitt Romney + Empty Campaign Rally = April Fool’s Day Shenanigans!

[PaulL]

Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time

LUN

I've read only several so far, but there are some good ones.

[AliceH]

Sara - that was too cruel. I do hope you've got some payback cooked up for this little miscreant!

[jimmyk]

At the risk of seeming no fun, I must say that if someone in my family did that I'd be pissed off. April Fool's should be funny, not cruel and potentially heart attack-inducing--like the ones in PaulL's 8:12.

[AliceH]

PaulL - #9 Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers !!!

I read that issue (it was full of fake articles, most of them nearly as clever). In fact, every April week 1 issue to I'd look forward to determining which articles were real, which were April Fools - some were suprisingly challenging.

That was when Discovery magazine used to be good full of general science/tech stories and not all preachy/political.

[Stephanie]

Since this is the OT thread, I just thought I would let everyone know that the Harry Potter books are now available for download to Kindle. Also for the Nook and every other digital book media.

At Pottermore.com . Sorry for the interruption, but I've been dying to read these and they are finally available on electronic media. The kids refuse to let me borrow theirs :( as they are afraid they won't get them back.

[Thomas Collins]

You mean the spaghetti I dumped in the boiling water tonight doesn't come from trees? Y'all must be playing an April Fool's joke on me!

Happy April First!

[Sara (Pal2Pal)]

jimmyk: I was pissed. I told him I was way too old to pull that kind of thing on me. But, I think I was as upset that I fell for it as I was at him doing it. :)

AliceH: I'm not very good at coming up with pranks. My d-i-l suggested she call him back in a panic and tell him that his joke upset me to the point that I had to be taken to the emergency room and it was touch and go. I said no to that, mostly because I have this thing about lying about stuff like that and tempting fate.

[Stephanie]

I forget to give a hearty congrats to those on the AGW thread with KK.

Well done, ruined my golf round though as I was laughing so hard that I started playing what I will call Goofy Golf (named in her honor) - similar to military golf but wackier.

Not just left, right, left, right, but add in some trees PLUNK! and a few water hazards that the ball didn't sink into but actually skipped onto the green from, and it was a wacky, goofy day. And reading that thread, I didn't mind it at all. :)

[jimmyk]

The left-handed whopper (#8) was funny in a geeky sort of way. "All the condiments rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers," and thousands actually tried to order it.

[Clarice]

Press reports far fewer than the 75K sharpton promised showed up to today's rally.

[Ralph L]

does anyone have any tips?
Posted by: Itcy Finger Rodriguez
Buy an "h" or wash your hands.
venison tartar
Guaranteed to give you parasites.

[Itcy Fingher Rodriguez]

"Buy an "h" or wash your hands."

Thanks Ralp, owe you one.

[Jack is Back!]

Clarice,

Saw the Sharpton rally on local TV and it didn't even look like a thousand but it may have been a portion of the crowd, don't know. However, it was definitely over estimated. LIke most of Sharpton including his hair.

[Clarice]

Looks to me like people aren't as dumb as the Justice Brothers think they are, JIB.

[daddy]

Clarice,

Just in from the dog walk and finally got to today's Pieces. What a pleasant surprise:)

Delightful and excellent as always. My day is made. Thanks for all you do for all of us.

[Danube of Thought]

Don't know how many noticed this--I think it was on Fox News Watch--but the occasionally honest Kirsten Powers has weighed in with the latest DNC talking point on the train-wreck arguments: the questions from the conservative justices were all "political."

Really? How, indeed, can she tell? Given that the constitution is nothing more nor less than the ultimate political document--"how shall power be allocated?"--how could the issues presented by the Obamacare challenge ever be anything other than "political?" The issue is, "does the congress have the power to do this?"

She wanted a non-political discussion of the issue?

Dope..

[Danube of Thought]

CBS swallows hard and reports:

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Thousands of people filled the amphitheater at Miami’s Bayfront Park Sunday afternoon to demand justice in the death of Trayvon Martin. The attendance fell far short of the 75 thousand predicted by US Rep. Frederica Wilson, organizer of the event, but they missed a spirited rally held under a blazing sun.

The crowd belted out it’s approval of former Miami-Dade police director Bobby Parker’s comments.

“This is the time to become energized,” Parker shouted. “This is the time to take action. Trayvon Martin gave his life for this cause!”

Get that? He gave his life for the cause--as if he had thrown himself on a grenade. Greater love hath no man than this.

[Porchlight]

Who's hotter: Don Draper or Megan Draper? Will Megan do the housekeeping in her bra and panties again? Did Roger lock up the Coca Cola deal?

Dude, no spoilers, some of us are still on the first season! I will pretend I never heard of "Megan Draper." Because I haven't. ;)

[Porchlight]

Get that? He gave his life for the cause--as if he had thrown himself on a grenade. Greater love hath no man than this.

And during Holy Week, no less.

[Captain Hate]

Porch, I threw this out and got no responses but I think you were away so I'll pose it again: Have you ever watched any episodes of Treme on HBO?

[Ignatz]

--OK, then what about tribbles. Cute and cuddly or cute and deadly?--

Depends.
Are you a Klingon?

[Porchlight]

No, Cap'n, I don't have HBO. It's about New Orleans, correct?

[matt]

They foul up the ferkal valve, Iggy. As we used to say at the garage, "if that don't ferkal!"

DoT;

The cause they speak of is Sharpton, Waters, Ms Pink Cowboy Hat, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and all the other race merchants Brand New Cadillac Fund.

[Strawman Cometh]

wow. Do thes guys thing they are subtle?

..he's not going to Michigan.
Because Romney's a clown, and I don't want the mayor standing next to him.

[Billl J]

"Because Romney's a clown, and I don't want the mayor standing next to him."

I caught that as well. On the plus side, the guy who said it is an a-hole on the show.

[Melinda Romanoff]

Porch-

What an interesting observation. It certainly takes away any "religious fervor" and diminishes MFM coverage of ANY religious events, say like the Pope in Cuba, or Easter.

But, then again, there are NO coincidences in Chicago.

Nah, I won't question the timing.

[Melinda Romanoff]

And on that, I fade.

G'night all.

[Danube of Thought]

Nytol.

[Janet]

Dude, no spoilers, some of us are still on the first season!

I really liked the first season. Sorta the Godless mad men compared to the Godless bohemians. Emptiness in both camps. Two different roads, both leading nowhere.
We are Netflix viewers of the show...so we've got a long wait.

[Harrjf]

CH, you didn't ask me but I watched Treme when it first came out. Loved the music, loved the locales, loved the story lines. It just drifted off my radar probably when Steve Zahn's character got more prominent and les believeable.

[Harrjf]

Went to the French Quarter festival the year after Katrina. Had a great time but it was a very different NOLA. Very nice having 350,000 fewer residents although service was spotty. At the food festival in Jackson Square we were a ble to buy food and sit on a bench to eat it. Prior years we couldn't even see any grass due to the crowd.

[jimmyk]

She wanted a non-political discussion of the issue?

To give her the benefit of the doubt, by "political" I presume she meant not grounded in objective analysis of constitutional law, but driven by their own agenda. But in the end, it simply means "their view of the constitution disagrees with mine."

[Dick Morris]

Chances of SCOTUS blowing up TheKenyanFairyTale Act and undo the liberal marxist regulatory utopia: 5 out of 9 of course. This one finishes out along partisan lines and gives The Kenyan Bunny his excuse to let the election go (he's already burned through most of his campaign cash after failing to raise at the necessary rate for having a billion by crunch time). He's headed for greener pastures and a larger expense budget for maintaining "shelly" in the lingerie she's become accustomed to wearing. Where to from here? Why the UN of course, where he can pander to every Moslem theocracy and tinpot dictator the world over---- all in the name of protecting the "less fortunate." Another good reason to pull the cash plug from the UN. SCOTUS will rule against "Free Health Care" for all.

[Janet]

So "Mad Men" throws in a dig to Romney (George Romney). Tiresome.

[Riders of the purple rage.]

It seems, DoT, that the cause took his life, rather than him giving his life for the cause.
============

[iqvoice]

I've often wondered why the Anti-Meat and the Pro-Choice types don't make the obvious logical jump and start campaigning for progressives to eat fetus.

Fetus-meat seems like the obvious choice for the libs to eat: it's not a human or a baby or anything like that; it's only a choice (and choices are always good!) so you don't have to worry about false "cannibalism" charges. Plus, since it is not an animal, you are not pissing off any of the PETA crowd. Plus, it's a Green Solution: imagine the millions of fetuses that are currently going into landfills or whatever. How wasteful!

And, by all accounts, human meat doesn't taste bad at all. Think of the slogans they could use....

Fetus: it's the new white meat!

or maybe

Fetus: tastes just like chicken!

[Captain Hate]

CH, you didn't ask me but I watched Treme when it first came out. Loved the music, loved the locales, loved the story lines. It just drifted off my radar probably when Steve Zahn's character got more prominent and les believeable.

Thanks for the feedback; the music is outstanding and I'm watching the DVDs from season 1 and the music commentary, even by some NPR dweebs who can be annoying at times, is pretty good. I just watched the Mardi Gras episode; when does the Steve Zahn character become less believable (fwiw, he seems very true to type of other obsessive musical nuts that I've known). Everybody seems very well cast and its no surprise to me that this was done by the people that did The Wire because he uses some of the same actors and I got hooked quickly.