# Omnibus Stupid MFers in the news thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 5, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657 "2024-01-05T16:15:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 311
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6201 "2025-12-18T00:50:00Z")
Niagara falls has two distinct falls that are separated by a good-sized island. The national border runs through the island. Many Americans are surprised to learn that the comparatively small ordinary looking falls on one side of the island is the American one, and the iconic image we all think of as “Majestic Niagara Falls in Niagara, New York” is the fact the Canadian one in Ontario province. Oops. Nice thing about RW talking heads is that when they’re wrong, they’re shrieking at the top of their lungs so everybody finds out. The not-nice thing is they’re _always_ shrieking and that gets very tiresome. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6202 "2025-12-18T02:00:12Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The national border runs through the island. I believe you are talking about Goat Island. This island is entirely in the United States. From [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Island_(New_York)) > The island is at the southwest corner of the City of Niagara Falls (and of Niagara County), New York, in the United States and is part of Niagara Falls State Park. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6203 "2025-12-18T02:12:03Z")
You are of course correct. Past time for me to look up stuff I know but that I haven’t reviewed recently. It’s still true that the two falls are in different countries and the island separates them. But the actual border, as you say, is in the water off the side of the island closer to Canada, not on the land. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6204 "2025-12-18T02:16:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I think it’s just that Ingraham didn’t realize that Niagara Falls is between both countries, with the US on one side and Canada on the other, and was acting like Canada was trying to claim something on US soil. No, no, Ingraham forgot that Canada, Ontario specifically, is not yet an American state. The Tweet “_Gambling…ugh. **We** need manufacturing not this_.” Evidence for this is the inability to link to the Tweet because she took it down. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6205 "2025-12-18T02:31:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s still true that the two falls are in different countries and the island separates them. Aren’t there three falls? Admittedly, Bridal Veil is much smaller than the other two. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6206 "2025-12-18T06:18:03Z")
You know how every so often some idiot tries to do an Atlas Shrugged in the middle of nowhere and it inevitably turns into a colossal boondoggle? It’s that time again. > **[Belgian crypto-billionaire wants to build the 'Dubai of the Caribbean'](https://www.brusselstimes.com/belgium/1885370/belgian-crypto-billionaire-wants-to-start-community-on-caribbean-island/)** > > Belgian crypto billionaire Olivier Janssens is planning to establish a "libertarian community" with its own legal system in Saint Kitts and Nevis. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6207 "2025-12-18T12:55:20Z")
He should just build it underwater. What could go wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6208 "2025-12-18T16:11:59Z")
Sounds like a great place to hold the next Fyre Festival! ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6209 "2025-12-18T17:18:43Z")
I’m going to assume it will work out about as well as Galt’s Gulch in Chile did. > **[Atlas Mugged: How a Libertarian Paradise in Chile Fell Apart](https://www.vice.com/en/article/atlas-mugged-922-v21n10/)** > > Two years after Galt's Gulch Chile was founded, the utopian project is mired in personal and legal conflicts and investors now claim that the guy in charge is a sociopath and a con man. I knew one of the people involved in this shit-show. He seemed like an otherwise reasonably normal human being. I was kind of surprised to find out he’d gone that deep down the rabbit hole. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6210 "2025-12-18T18:08:24Z")
So the lead Randian of that long-dead project was allegedly a sociopath. Who coulda predicted that one? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6211 "2025-12-19T05:32:32Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > He should just build it underwater. What could go wrong? As I’ve said elsewhere, “nobody ever manages to _actually_ build Rapture”. These libertarian/Randian/whatever types who idealize selfishness are almost uniquely unable to function other than as parasites. They consistently fail in their periodic attempts to build a “Galt’s Gulch” because they can’t cooperate long enough to even start before someone steals the money. They can’t even try and fail, because they never finish the “try” part. The closest they get is taking over someplace built by other people and running it into the ground. Literal suicide cults are better at building a society than would-be builders of libertarian enclaves are. Heck, they even tend to last longer. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6212 "2025-12-19T05:43:54Z")
Exhibit A: [A Libertarian Walks into a Bear.](https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-libertarian-walks-into-a-bear-the-utopian-plot-to-liberate-an-american-town-and-some-bears-matthew-hongoltz-hetling/4be169c70d2385f4?ean=9781541788510&next=t&next=t&affiliate=1620) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6213 "2025-12-19T05:45:40Z")
Alas, there are no bears in Nevis, so it won’t go pear-shaped the same way the one in New Hampshire did. > **[The Town That Went Feral](https://newrepublic.com/article/159662/libertarian-walks-into-bear-book-review-free-town-project)** > > When a group of libertarians set about scrapping their local government, chaos descended. And then the bears moved in. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6214 "2025-12-19T05:48:31Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Exhibit A: [A Libertarian Walks into a Bear.](https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-libertarian-walks-into-a-bear-the-utopian-plot-to-liberate-an-american-town-and-some-bears-matthew-hongoltz-hetling/4be169c70d2385f4?ean=9781541788510&next=t&next=t&affiliate=1620) Well, libertarians do usually believe in the right to bear arms; so surely an _entire_ bear is even better, right? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6215 "2025-12-19T08:04:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > These libertarian/Randian/whatever types who idealize selfishness are almost uniquely unable to function other than as parasites. **They consistently fail in their periodic attempts to build a “Galt’s Gulch”** because they can’t cooperate long enough to even start before someone steals the money. They could probably manage to build a “Jonestown,” though, if they put their minds to it. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6216 "2025-12-19T10:45:45Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > They consistently fail in their periodic attempts to build a “Galt’s Gulch” because they can’t cooperate long enough to even start before someone steals the money. They also fail because their techno-feudal fantasies require serfs to do the scut work and none of them want to be serfs, they all want to be kings. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6217 "2025-12-19T12:13:55Z")
Right, because in book-accurate Randtopia (Objectopia?) there would also implicitly be a whole tier list of workers and managers who _also themselves are_ convinced of their role rationally building this righteous world and will willingly show up to support it. Which is not what the techbroligarchs are thinking of. (Sort of like everyone sings of the glory of the 300 Spartans and forgets about the couple thousand allies, auxiliaries, slaves and camp followers that came along.) ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6218 "2025-12-19T13:12:41Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > They also fail because their techno-feudal fantasies require serfs to do the scut work and none of them want to be serfs, they all want to be kings. > "… The result of the Cyprus experiment was convincing.” > > “What was that?” asked the Savage. > > Mustapha Mond smiled. “Well, you can call it an experiment in rebottling if you like. It began in A.F. 473. The Controllers had the island of Cyprus cleared of all its existing inhabitants and re-colonized with a specially prepared batch of twenty-two thousand Alphas. All agricultural and industrial equipment was handed over to them and they were left to manage their own affairs. The result exactly fulfilled all the theoretical predictions. The land wasn’t properly worked; there were strikes in all the factories; the laws were set at naught, orders disobeyed; all the people detailed for a spell of low-grade work were perpetually intriguing for high-grade jobs, and all the people with high-grade jobs were counter-intriguing at all costs to stay where they were. Within six years they were having a first-class civil war. When nineteen out of the twenty-two thousand had been killed, the survivors unanimously petitioned the World Controllers to resume the government of the island. Which they did. And that was the end of the only society of Alphas that the world has ever seen.” — _Brave New World_ ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6219 "2025-12-19T23:36:01Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > (Sort of like everyone sings of the glory of the 300 Spartans and forgets about the couple thousand allies, auxiliaries, slaves and camp followers that came along.) Not to mention the hairdressers. — from The Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2025, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657/6220 "2025-12-20T00:28:32Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > The Cartoon History of the Universe by Larry Gonick I loved that book in high school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=310) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-stupid-mfers-in-the-news-thread-part-2/995657.md?page=312)