Alabama, Ladies and Gentlemen!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I feel like we discussed "long pig" on CA 2.0, but searching for it yielded no results. Then again, CA 2.0 searches often yield no results--whether or not they should.

[Dalty]

I have seen Babe. It doesn't help.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Confederate License Plate Not Protected Free Speech, Supreme Court Rules

This ruling doesn't just affect Alabama.

Get a load of some of those comments!

[Mal Shot First]

License plates are government property. The government doesn't have to promote any kind of cause it deems offensive. It's not a matter of restriction on an individual's right to free speech, and it's annoying that people are trying to make it into one.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I've only read a handful of the comments, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were people complaining about how they're forced to let the government tag their car/private property the way a rancher tags a cow. I've seen this complaint made in the past. The car's supposed to be a person's private property (unless that person is leasing it/still making payments), but they can't drive it unless it has the government-approved tag on it. 'S not fair, they say. I dunno.

I've always just thought of it as a contract you enter into when you make the choice to own and drive a car. The government lets you do certain things, and it doesn't let you do certain things. That's just the way it is.

People. They want to be free. They want the freedom to let the world know, in as many as possible, that they're bigots. They want to be transparent about it. With a plain ol' government issue license plate, they're forced to find other ways.

[Dalty]

They are free to own any car they want but they have to drive them on Govt roads through towns and cities and other municipal space. They are also free to take the bus if they don't like it.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Is the building of major roads subject to government restrictions in the US? Could an insanely wealthy libertarian build a network of roads that allowed people to drive their un-government-license-plated cars around? (This is assuming, of course, that the roads were built on private property that in no way touched government/public property.)

[Dalty]

If this was in the UK then they would be private roads and yes, we have them. In which case somebody is allowed to drive and unregistered car without a drivers licence on them any time they want. But it also means they are not 'adopted' by the local authority so maintenance and upkeep are the responsibility of the people who have chosen to live on that street.

[Dalty]

Worth mentioning this also comes with a lot of down sides. Drainage and run-off must also be privately managed. Garbage disposal men must be paid extra to come down and empty the trash cans along these streets and the owners must also pay public liability insurance to enable them to do so etc. etc.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I had in mind something on a much larger scale. I'm not sure it could be accomplished, considering how much of the land and roadways belong to the government. It would probably have to be done in the no man's land of the Western United States, and they'd probably have to take great care to keep of the governmental grass. (That's a "so to speak" kind of grass. Conditions get pretty dire out west.) It would likely require a bunch of landowners to band together to make it happen.

[Dalty]

Elon Musk seems dead set on building his own underground hyper speed railway.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

The underground. That's good. I'm not sure how much of that is owned by the government. I'm also not sure how deep (I mean that literally) ownership goes.

[Dalty]

In the UK "The Crown" owns all minerals extracted from the ground even if you own the land on top of it. Vaguely communist! Although "The Crown" has to pay you handsomely to get onto your land to extract it.

Not sure how it works in the U.S..... or if you are not extracting minerals but building public transport.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

In my experience, crowns are what go on top. Down below's root canal and implant territory.

[Dalty]

Probably a great strategy to govern by.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

If you were worried that none of my Alabama Facebook friends would show indignation at Wal-Mart's announcement that it would be pulling all Confederate Flag merchandise, you can rest a little easier. Three have come forward, so far, to show their indignation.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Here's one of the memes some of them are sharing:



(The above was accompanied, in one case, by this comment: "That's right but they will get there way it's a shame to take down part of history. Just a symbol of our south")

[Dalty]

Dear America - your problem is not a fucking flag!!!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

It is this week. You should tune in next week. Our problem will be trans fats.

[Dalty]

Just because they are overweight and gender unsure does not mean they are a threat!!!

[Mal Shot First]

Just because they are overweight and gender unsure does not mean they are a threat!!!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

"Overweight and gender unsure" comes close to a Cobain lyric.

[Mal Shot First]

"Overweight and gender unsure" comes close to a Cobain lyric.

I'm just handing 'em out here, folks!

[Dalty]

Episodes!

Shit - wrong thread.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I'm just handing 'em out here, folks!

Mine shouldn't count. I was threatened by your positive response to Dalty's post, so I appealed to your love of Nirvana in hopes of getting you to respond the same way to me. It was damned near begging.