KagekaNecavi
Republicans love free enterprise, the entrepreneurial spirit — right up until they hate it.
Slate: From the state that brought you the nation’s first ban on climate science comes another legislative gem: a bill that would prohibit automakers from selling their cars in the state.
The proposal, which the Raleigh News & Observer reports was unanimously approved by the state’s Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday, would apply to all car manufacturers, but the intended target is clear. It’s aimed at Tesla, the only U.S. automaker whose business model relies on selling cars directly to consumers, rather than through a network of third-party dealerships.
The bill is being pushed by the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association, a trade group representing the state’s franchised dealerships. Its sponsor is state Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Republican from Henderson, who has said the goal is to prevent unfair competition between manufacturers and dealers. What makes it “unfair competition” as opposed to plain-old “competition”—something Republicans are typically inclined to favor—is not entirely clear. After all, North Carolina doesn’t seem to have a problem with Apple selling its computers online or via its own Apple Stores.
Still, it’s easy to understand why some car dealers might feel a little threatened: Tesla’s Model S outsold the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series, and Audi A8 last quarter without any help from them. If its business model were to catch on, consumers might find that they don’t need the middle-men as much as they thought.
According to the report, “Apodaca received $8,000 in campaign contributions from the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association last year, the maximum amount allowed by state law.” He has not responded to a request for comment.
Ironically, this sort of thing is almost exactly what Ayn Rand complained about in her novel Atlas Shrugged — a business group and the government were forcing an industrialist to share his process for producing a new alloy, using “unfair competition” as their reasoning. I suppose it hadn’t occurred to her that they could ban it for the same reason.
The GOP has taken to praising Rand in recent years — especially post-Tea Party. Like so much else Republicans say, that praise is obviously horseshit.
Free markets, amirite?
Transgender Rights in the Era of Same-Sex Marriage: Are We Forgetting the
The United States moves inexorably toward granting equality to the L.G.B., but in the process, while still pronouncing that satisfying final consonant, we often, in practice, drop the T. No federal law offers protection to transgender people from discrimination in the workplace; the population sees double the usual rate of unemployment, and ninety per cent of transgender individuals report harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination at work.
(Source: neutrois, via stfuconservatives)
if you ever think mythology is boring or serious business or whatever shit
just remember that cerberus, the hell-hound and guard dog of the underworld, comes from the root indo-european word ḱerberos, which evolved into the greek word kerberos, which got changed to cerberus when it went from greek to latin
ḱerberos means “spotted”
that’s right
hades, lord of the dead, literally fucking named his pet dog spot
(via zaffre)
For the last three decades many Americans have puzzled over a system that gives an R to a movie in which a women is carved up by a chainsaw and an NC-17 to one that shows a woman sexually pleasured. From such ratings one might conclude that sexual violence against women is OK for American teenagers to see, but that they must be 18 to see consensual sex. What message does this send to the kids the MPAA presumably means to protect?
Carrie Rickey
(via fireworkselectricbright)
“You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film.”
-Ryan Gosling on the controversy around the rating of his film ‘Blue Valentine’
(via misandry-mermaid)
(via beg-for-mercy-twice)
WATCH THIS FUCKING VIDEO AND TELL ME THIS DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THE MOST FUN EVER
IT’S A ZOMBIE 5K OBSTACLE COURSE
ZOMBIES
CHASING YOU
(via kigichi)
Polycoria - a medical condition of having multiple pupils in one eye.
Whoa.
(via kigichi)
i made this comic after a series of frustrating conversations in which dudes told me to ‘learn to take a joke’ instead of getting upset about transphobia in the media. i laugh a lot, but i’m not gonna laugh at anything that dehumanizes me. because its not just a show, its my whole life. these are just some moments from the last ten years. i could go on. but also, yay comics! :D
Check out these great comic strips by a wonderful woman, Eva. This is so necessary.
(via artoftransliness)
A graphical representation of the contradictions in the bible. Each red line links 2 contradicting statements.
WILL ALWAYS REBLOG.
WOAH
This reminds me of a really fascinating theological idea I read once. It poses that God meant for the Bible to be full of contradictions, because it isn’t an instruction manual, but a test of character. If you can read through all the books and stories, all the confusing, contradictory statements, and you still choose to take home a message of peace, acceptance, and forgiveness, then you’ve passed God’s test.
I’m not a very religious person, but I still really like that idea.
^ I like that interpretation :D
(via kigichi)
AH, I HAVE DISCOVERED WHY I HATE YOUR GUTS.
He acts like Star Trek is no longer needed for its ability to address social issues, so now why not just turn it into a bright and shiny action flick and nothing else? Dizzy bastard.
He took a project on without really realizing what it meant to so many people. I’m not just talking about those “crazy” nerds that stand in lines at conventions for hours. I’m talking about Marton Luther King Jr., who begged Nichelle Nichols not to quit the show. I’m talking about the hundreds of men and women that joined the navy or airforce, worked in the space industry, or became astronauts because of Star Trek. He’s forgotten all those people. He didn’t have faith that Star Trek in its purest form could reach all people– because it never reached him. So he molded it into something very different to fit a societal standard of action movies that pervades Hollywood today.
He missed that mark. And he pats himself on the back for it.
(via cannedebonbon)
