I will begin this post as I began my previous one on the topic: The threat to democracy has never been greater. Or has it? Yes, it probably has. But that is not the point. The point is that it is broken. Or is it? Maybe it is functioning exactly how the nature of the thing dictates. But that does not “vibe” with the great lovers of democracy, for which it is this perfect thing that the wreckers and saboteurs are ruining. So I will share a short thought or two of fixing what is broken, although this is by no mean an exhaustive post. Back in the day I used to call these posts Pie Ponders.
To start, it must be broken, because if it is not broken, if it is functioning befitting its nature, then the illusion goes away. And one might need to … gasp… limit its scope. This is a big nono for many democracy lovers. Limits would mean they don’t get to force their views on others when they are in the 51%. And forcing their views on other makes them positively gleeful. So for most, democracy being broken means they do not win and fixing it would imply them winning. That their views get voted. That their idea of democracy – everything they like nothing they don’t – shines through.
Wait a minute, you will say. Isn’t the point of democracy people choosing what they wish? Well obviously no. It’s only when people choose right that counts. Wrong choice is no choice at all. So our democracy must be fixed and then made quite bulletproof. And fix it we will. But how? That is the (40% of GDP +/- 10%) dollar question, for most countries.
So how do we fix it? Get more people to vote is popular, though people tend to suck at voting. Public choice theory addresses this, as many other do. Saying this offends the people who think the main fix in democracy is getting more people to vote, irrespective of whether they have any idea about anything. In the end voter knowledge is irrelevant, getting more people voting means, off course, getting the right people, certainly not the wrong people. The people who vote with us.
Educate the voters – education meaning just presenting the right ideas and suppressing the wrong ones. People will not develop critical thinking skills if they can just read the wrong stuff willly nilly.
And then there is the big one. The panacea. The Ultimate Solution. Get money out of politics, naturally.
The more government taxes and spends and regulates, the more it decides the flow of money in a country. And so the government picks winners and losers. In a sense politics is money. How can you take money out of politics without greatly reducing tax and spend?
Campaign finance reform! That is but a fragment of money in politics and not a very big one. All sorts of rules against campaign money exist in many a country, and still democracy does not seem to work any better. What about politicians who become consultants after giving favors to people? O give speeches for tens of millions wink wink. Or their kids get cushy jobs? Or getting to use a friend’s yacht or house or ehm… island? Or good old fashioned bags of money? When politicians decide who profits, they will be bought. Because they are power hungry individuals of low morals. Power not only corrupts, but it attracts the ones prone to corruption.
And while we talk money in politics let’s address the elephant in the room. Left wing politics has a component that is basically vote for me and I give you money. If I use my money to buy an advertisement, well that’s wrong you see, but promising other people’s money is just great. Nothing takes money out of politics like your entire platform being vote for me and I give you money. Higher pensions, more welfare, free college or free daycare, debt cancellation and more can be simply translated to vote for me and I give you money.
But government spending does not apparently count as money in politics. Just the “dark money”. The ones that are donated to a campaign or other, although I have seen little correlation between money spent and success of a campaign.
“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators,” – P. J O’Rourke, the based version.
That pretty much sums it up.
Your republic becomes unsustainable as soon as government reaches the point that because it has its dirty grubby hands in every pot it can and is picking the winners & losers….
Just as Calhoun argued. The tariff policy was abominable.
Limits would mean they don’t get to force their views on others when they are in the ..99% either
Replace “democracy” with “socialism” in the final sentence of the quote and the reason ‘true socialism has never been tried’ becomes obvious.
If I use my money to buy
an advertisementvotes, well that’s wrong you see, but promising other people’s money is just great.Andrew Jackson gave BBQs and whiskey. Seemed to have worked
AJ only had to buy men’s votes though since women ….
Only because the poor were finally allowed to vote.
Democracry thrives with…a strict constitution limiting and specifically enumerating the powers of government.
Within that small regime, democracy deciding exact lines works great.
The FFs tried that, but they werent limiting or specific enough.
Unless you protect the minority you end up with warring tribes.
This is why you need gun control
Go back to my articles on A Republic, If You Can Keep It. Franklin laid out that the Constitution wasn’t all that, but that didn’t matter since the way the people would choose would determine our fate. If the people chose wisely enough, we would keep the republic, and if they chose poorly they would be governed accordingly.
This here. The Constitution provides a tripwire, but if there aren’t guards (a citizenry committed to limited government) to respond, it means little.
The Constitution only works if people are willing to restrict their actions in accordance. When the populace wants results regardless of means, the document becomes a mere suggestion.
Law without punishment is merely advice.
I see you are familiar with 4 USC Chapter 1.
I’m no fan of democracy, because it is always used to disenfranchise me.
That is because your taste in wine is suspect
The aristocracy also has contempt for beer drinkers.
I drink beer as well. And whisky. And occasionally gin. And tuica.
The United States is not a single nation. It can only be held together by a limited federal government or tyranny.
Tyranny it is then, it seems. But hey limited government got a shot fpr a couple of years here snd there
“The United States is not a single nation. It can only be held together by a limited federal government or tyranny.”
We’re like Yugoslavia, but more prosperous and with less intense ethnic hatred–so far anyway.
You sound like some sort of filthy mick…
“There’s only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people’s cultures and the Dutch.”
― Michael Caine
Sho’ nuff.
We do make better cars.
Educate the voters
Something about you can’t reason someone out of something they didn’t reason themselves into.
There is no educating voters – you’ve already lost the battle because you didn’t build citizens during the formative years.
The dumbing down was on purpose… By design…
The dumbing down started with good intents, naturally enough, and long before either of us was born.
The dumbing down started with good intents
Assumes facts not in evidence. Foreseeable consequences are not unintended.
Mann’s proposal for universal schooling. It wasn’t entirely wrong; and you aren’t going to get a republican citizenry out of nature.
The problem comes in the differentiation between fundamental schooling and education of the elite.
Yup. We can help the forthcoming generations by destroying the educational-industrial complex, but the present-day victims are probably a lost cause. Comfortable tennaments with high-speed internet access, libido suppressors in the food, and free suicide booths are probably the most humane answer there. .
Really living up to your name today.
The ‘evil’ part or the ‘Sheldon’ part?
It gives me no pleasure whatsoever, but it’s a major problem – what do you do with people who just cannot or will not take care of themselves? The number of these dysfunctional pseudo-adults continues to rise, and letting them starve or OD in homeless camps doesn’t seem like a tenable solution…
The evil part.
Many people would shape up in the right circumstances, many more are already doing so. I try not to have such a low opinion of my fellow man (though I’m certainly not always successful). Used to be, this was a place for charity, not giving up on people and doping them up.
I truly hope that you’re right.
Problems that took generations to create will not be fixed in one generation. Not even by brutal means. Nor can you expect a culture to instantaneously change, even out of spontaneous order (which is something that emerges over time).
True, but you never get out of it by slinging soma.
If economic conditions were really, really bad I could see Biden getting the Ceaușescu treatment.
Nah, it’ll take at least another decade to get that bad.
Oh naughty Bee!
The pic is the thing.
Wife’s Loud Gasp While Reading Phone Means Someone Either Died Or Got A New Handbag
Savage.
I LOL’d
Bald & Bankrupt had a visit to Romania – and where Ceaușescu was tried and executed, which is now a museum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aro2vgpcpis
supposed to be a reply to Homple
Hey, your old avatar is back.
Much better version, imo.
We ‘fix’ it by admitting to ourselves that democracy was kind of a dumb idea, and it should be abandoned and replaced with a system that forces some level of parity between political power and responsibility.
Does such a system exist?
Such a system can exist. I think that democracy, with its inbuilt economic and cultural race-to-the-bottom tendency, actually makes such a system more difficult to sustain.
Only as the Golden Age that never was but always was just a few generations back.
Probably the closest you could get to it is limit the franchise to people with skin in the game. Property ownership requirement, net tax payers (as opposed to net tax consumers like government employees), stuff like that.
I discussed that before. Issues with property are that Gates and others are buying up all the property, making them have a larger club to swing. I would still like to figure out what skin in the game should look like. For instance, you cannot be a recipient of government handouts?
For instance, you cannot be a recipient of government handouts?
Yes. Tax consumer vs. tax producer.
I would also suggest a no divided loyalties clause, wherein you can’t have more foreign assets or be recieving monies associated with foreign governments, companies, or citizens.
While we’re at it, get rid of dual citizenship as well.
Pick a team, already.
BS, Why are you forcing me on a “team?” The USA has its rules.. other countries have their rules. If those rules allow dual citizenship. Then one don’t have a say, it isn’t their country.
The state does not own me, or demand my allegiance, I won’t give it, or support such a notion. If I qualify for the franchise, I will vote. If I qualify in two separate Sovereign entities.. then I may vote in both.
The USA has its rules.. other countries have their rules.
Indeed. And I think the US should not allow dual citizenship. Also known as “divided loyalties”, after all.
If you aren’t committed at some level to the US as your home nation, then I suspect the US can get along without you as a citizen. Feel free to stick around as a resident alien, of course.
This isn’t about owning you, its about asking you to make a choice. The idea that you should owe no loyalty or allegience to your home nation strikes me as a real problem for anyone who demands the franchise and other benefits of citizenship.
I owe no loyalty to a country… I may give my loyalty to family, community and country, but that is my choice, not the country’s choice. If I can stand a country’s laws, I may live there.. If I cannot stand them, I will not visit. The country taxes me, irrespective of where I live, the country claims sovereignty over me, I will exercise the franchise.
This sounds very much like “my country, love it or leave it”.. I can hate parts of it, and not leave it, but try and change it.. Like all of us wish to. Perhaps we also wish to influence our other countries in a similar way, and that can’t be done without the historical connection and franchise.
The law says I am not a resident alien. I was born here.. that is the USA’s decision. I’m sure they can do without me, but they didn’t.. for some reason they decided that the birthright was special, and made me a citizen. I am also an English citizen by their laws, and a Canadian by theirs. My parents were Dual, My Wife is Dual. Those are their laws.
None of this would be an issue if countries did not believe that they have extraterritorial control over their “citizens”. I have the rights.. and I have the responsibilities… how does dual citizenship affect that other than “This person might vote to put country X first rather than country USA” why are you demanding a choice?.. I am an US Citizen in the territory of the USA (and for tax purposes globally) I may or may not be other things in other territories, how does this impact the USA?
Total wealth of U.S. is something like $150T worth, of which Gates commands all $111B, which is .074% of the total. What is the obsession with that slimy nerd?
He’s a NEEEERRD!
He amounts to nothing. Thus his vanity projects.
That was dismissive of me. In reality you are correct, he’s just a convenient boogie man.
His pushing of the Lil Rona vax probably didn’t help his reputation any.
See, I’m not keen on the left with their usual obsession about wealthy people, so it rankles more when it comes from a quarter that really shouldn’t give a shit about that.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be adverse to making net tax payments a requirement to vote, and would allow people to overpay their taxes to get to that vote if they really want to.
Seems a more reasonable modern approach to reduce voting yourself more money.
Can’t make it net. It’s too easy to funnel money.
Make it absolute instead. Anyone who receives money from the government doesn’t get a vote. That includes directly through a salary (civil or military), food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, federal student loans, grants, or social security. Also if you are an employee of a company that receives any sort of government contracts or grants.
Right now that would exclude huge swathes of the population, especially being an employee of company that receives any sort of government financial assistance. But that’s the point. Slowly the economy would restructure by voters choosing to remove the incentives for receiving government money. I would also exclude any family direct family member, by blood or marriage, from being eligible to run for public office for a certain number of generations. It’s the only way to break up these political dynasties.
Can I at least get back the 50% of my Soc Sec?
What about military pensions? State and Federal Employees?
Still I can work with this…
Would that include in professions that benefit from government regulation, licensing, barriers to entry, etc…etc.
Don’t know. Definitely something to explore. surely someone else has explored this topic somewhere.
I hadn’t thought of those. I was thinking along the lines of taxes paid and monies paid out. Meaning salary for government workers, welfare, subsidies, and the like.
Slowly the economy would restructure by voters choosing to remove the incentives for receiving government money.
That’s a big assumption.
I would also exclude any family direct family member, by blood or marriage, from being eligible to run for public office for a certain number of generations. It’s the only way to break up these political dynasties.
Incentives, how the fuck do they work? Marriage restrictions will merely shift to informal or other means. Blood restrictions will make getting some patsy to formal claim parentage an avenue.
Blood restrictions, at least, could be enforced with DNA testing.
Even if the marriage restrictions were circumvented over time, they could certainly shut down some of our current dynasties.
Well, there’s certainly an incentive now for voters to vote themselves government money. There’s entire industries around this. It seems like it would follow that will be less of incentive to redistribute taxpayers money if the recipients of the taxpayer money can’t vote. In other words, taxpayers would be less likely to vote to distribute their own money to others.
I think the assumption is solid. But the effect size is unknown, given that there will be workarounds. It still has to be better than what we currently have.
One of the biggest “voters voting themselves govt money” is SocSec. Good luck taking away either those $ or the vote from granny.
I’d be curious to see what percentage of the population would be left under that approach. 5%? 10%?
The perverse incentive (and there’s always a perverse incentive), would be for the remaining voters to retain their influence by supporting ongoing, widespread direct and indirect payments. Maybe smaller ones, but still.
“Pure” Democracy in anything bigger than a village never works and is a terrible idea.
The Athenian democracy we all learned about in school was limited to men of a certain class – and it still ended disastrously.
The Roman Republic had more limits and rules around power and lasted much longer. It still broke down in many of the same ways the American Republic is breaking down right now – people whipping up the masses for power, choosing to ignore any rules, laws, traditions, or the constitution itself if it stands between them and power. Far too much money flowing in from around the empire. New political leaders who were 100% personal ambition and 0% ethics or morality. And politics becoming more personal – arresting and even killing rivals.
Well by those standards we are still pretty far from real decadence.
Pretty far? Let’s try a little word association test. What comes to mind when I say:
“Clinton”
“Epstein”
“FBI”
I suppose “how far” could depend on how narrowly you define “rivals.”
We only know the most noteworthy political carnage from Rome, and we haven’t hit those levels… yet. Not a Caesar among us – just pretenders, and as corrupt as the FBI is, it isn’t yet a platoon of Praetorians. Nor even with our dynastic political families, cough Clinton cough, do they sit from generation to generation as Senators.
“When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators,” – P. J O’Rourke, the based version.
This is it. There is no fixing ‘democracy’
That was pre-9/11 PJ.
Bin Laden broke his brain.
A thought on fixing democracy
Nuke it from orbit.
they are in the 51%
They’re probably not the 51%. Lots of people don’t vote and don’t give a shit.
With plurality elections sometimes you don’t need 51% of voters. I recall primary winners with less than 40% this year. You could probably find someone who won with less than 30%.
Democracy ought to command a majority not of those who simply vote, but of the voting population as a whole. If less than half vote, you could completely halt the govt.
*best Bubba voice*
I know! Isn’t it great?!
Pie you are a Tim Dillon fan right? His most recent podcast with Curtis Yarvin was pretty good (Yarvin is still scattered and rambly but will occasionally nail a point).
Yes i am. I watched ot. It was still too much yarvin for me. But interesting
Campaign finance reform!
I love challenging the “Korporations aren’t people!” and “Money isn’t speech!” progs to explain how they can effectively spread a political message across the country without spending any money or getting any in-kind donations of time, labor, or materials. Want to print leaflets? Where’s the paper, ink, and printer coming from? Going on a whistlestop campaign? How? Going to walk, forage for berries, and sleep outside in the bushes? Radio and TV ads are of course impossible. If they ever admit that you can’t effectively speak without money, it’s a small step to point out that limiting money has the effect of limiting speech without saying that money equals speech.
Public campaign financing of course. It will, of course, exclude people we don’t want campaigning.
Money is a form of communication that is *more* important than speech.
‘Money talks, and bullshit runs a marathon,’ really should be an iron law.
Nah, they just want to stop the bad money.
Isn’t the point of democracy people choosing what they wish? Well obviously no. It’s only when people choose right that counts. Wrong choice is no choice at all.
See: Multiple failed votes to legalize gay marriage in California. Progs had no qualms about going to the courts to override the results of democracy.
*insert blinky guy GIF*
That’s funny.
I was thinking about him yesterday and how he must have got on the wrong side of the party somehow.
I’m guessing think comes around goes around is pinging around in his brain
*ding ding*
Have a blinky guy emoji: 🤪
“Fix” democracy?
Like as in cut its nuts off? It’s worth a try. The mob won’t like it.
*wanders back outside*
We voted and ultimately decided not to fix anything.
That’s one way to prevent democracy from spreading.
The threat isn’t to democracy, the threat is to individual rights based on a false notion having the government “do something” for the greater good based on the false perception of ever present imminent threats, i.e. climate change, Covid 19 and gun control are 3 big examples. Then screaming about people “voting against their interests” when they vote against measures allegedly aimed at saving us from said false threats. Then progs thinks it’s the courts job to enforce “democracy”, which is usually just code for progressive will.
There are no individual rights. There are only collective rights. The government gets to decide what those rights are. Individuals are only important in as far as they can used for the collective good.
Sadly the original Hulk Out List is dead. The new one is harder to search. I am fairly sure that saying what you said without sarcasm caused Bruce Banner to transform into the incredible Hulk in one episode of the TV series.
http://www.johnwalkershea.com/hulkout/credible-hulk.html#section3
That’s great, thanks.
“Thinking of either of his wives”
ALOL
Since we had one remy song for the AM links, we need another here.
This fits well: https://youtu.be/enTEvon9pbw
How about some Bragg and Heaton?
Can’t make this stuff up. Judge Who Signed Off On Trump Raid was an Epstein lawyer.
https://thefederalist.com/2022/08/09/report-judge-who-signed-off-on-trump-raid-previously-represented-jeffrey-epsteins-pilots-and-secretary/
Judge Who Signed Off On Trump Raid was an Epstein
lawyerclient.FIFY (probably)
I assume Epstein didn’t pay in cash.
Payment in kind, prior services rendered.
“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.”
You want me to…
NSFW audio, I suppose
The Q-Anon crowd is going blow a gasket, or two, or three…
If DC is not actually run by a pedo ring, they’re sure trying real hard to make it appear that way.
Pizzagate has aged better than Russiagate.
Appointed to the bench in 2018 – hmm, now who would be responsible for that?
Other judges?
A majority of the judges on the district court?
Thanks for making me learn something new.
Kinda puts a dent in the theories about political ties to Epstein’s clients.
Not sure how it does that. Can you elaborate?
He was appointed a magistrate by the district judges in the Southern District of Florida, not by political actors in DC. Now I suppose you could claim that everyone in every branch of the federal govt in every corner of the country was a pedo who visited Epstein’s island, but I think you’re gonna sound like some kind of asshole doing that.
The simple fact is, magistrates sign off on warrants as nothing more than rubber stamps. There is no valid judicial oversight, which is an abrogation of a duty of Article III courts, but hey, it’s convenient and it rarely causes a real problem. So attempting to manufacture some hysteria is fully warrants a CWAA response to the idiot pushing it (in this case the author of the linked piece above).
I thought it was more… He has some dirt personally that can be used as leverage against him to easily force him to save to a warrant. The conspiracy isn’t clear.
I agree with you that it isn’t even necessary as just about every warrant gets approved. Though if any warrant would have been denied, one targeting a former president might have been it.
Everybody read to fly for fun again?
A packed American Airlines flight diverted to Rome due to a “medical emergency” onboard. As a result, over 270 passengers were stranded for more than a day. Multiple passengers, however, claim that the reason for diversion was because one flight attendant insisted upon it after a passenger had an accident in which his clothing was soiled.
https://liveandletsfly.com/american-airlines-rome-diversion/
Yikes.
I guess I shouldn’t bitch about a 3 hour delay.
– Upon landing in Rome, everyone deplaned
– The crew left immediately, leaving the passengers behind
– Airport staff noted that American Airlines agents were on their way
– After five hours of waiting, during which no food or water was provided, an American Airlines agent met the group
– During this time, the soiled (and potentially contagious) passenger was left with everyone else (again, according to one alleged passenger)
– Passengers were told they would not be rebooked on other flights and AA145 would continue to JFK the following morning
Professionalism through and through.
But they didn’t divert this flight despite a “sudden and unexpected” death.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11091575/Mother-dies-plane-children-family-returned-home-Britain-Hong-Kong.html
Kids had to sit next to their dead mom for 8 hours.
Maybe the crew thought she was pining for the fjords?
Or only “mostly dead.”
So no rummaging through her pockets looking for loose change.
You monster wanting to split up a family.
Air Force One? What was on Joe’s agenda that day?
“medical emergency”…a passenger had an accident in which his clothing was soiled
Meh, could be both I guess.
This is the way.
Model on the sanctuary city/state laws to prevent cooperation with immigration laws.
I love how the proggies in the comments freak out about the possibility of Florida’s seceding. Some salivate at the thought, with a “go ahead and try” threat. Other than hoping to kill us in a civil war, the only reason for which I can think they’d be against red state secession is cuz they know they need our profits to loot. Otherwise, they hate us so much you’d think they’d welcome our seceding.
They are against secession because it would reduce their power. Period, full stop. Remember, these are the same people who believe Red States are net tax consumers, so its not looting our profits they are after; they believe that they would be ahead, budget-wise, if not for the slope-browed deplorables.
But the thought of not bossing those deplorables around? Intolerable!
👆👆
It’s akin to why they hate Viktor Orban so much. Counterpoint examples cannot be allowed.
All must be within the Borg.
Makes sense. Reminds me of a friend and former cop who said (paraphrasing), “People become cops to control other people, because they can’t control themselves.”
There’s comments along those lines in the cesspool of replies. “Good luck making it without the money from the Blue States! You’ll be begging us for money in no time!” 🙄
One might ask why those blue states need their pensions bailed out by the Feds,
“Lets try it and see!”
The people who are the worst at math understand it the least.
Which, you know makes sense. But they still try to use it.
Red states may be net tax consumers. But if you break it down further, hey, look, its red areas even within blue states that are the net tax consumers. But, wait, if we drill down even further, it changes.
Actually, not even sure about that with the Trump wave of red blue collar workers.
But it is really hard to figure out, because unlike most of the economy which is positive-sum and not-zero sum, government spending is negative-sum. Is anyone really net producer on taxes?
Lots of Proggies went ballistic when CACR 32 (the NH secession bill) came up. Establishment Republicans joined in too.
He’s certainly talking a good game.
Hitting the bottle a little early.
Nancy Pelosi: “China is one of the freest societies in the world. Don’t take if from me that’s from Freedom House. It’s a strong democracy, courageous people. I don’t know why but there is some commercial interest that would like to diminish the relationship.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgD38oJxNLc
I love when our officials are bi-polar
Wow.
I know FreedomHouse jumped the shark some time ago but jeebus that’s insane if what she said about them is accurate.
Pretty sure she misspoke and meant Taiwan.
That makes more sense.
Haha. What a list. US scores 83. Australia 95. I guess COVID lockdowns didn’t factor into the scoring.
Also Canada at 98.
Key Developments in 2021
The coup would have succeeded if Babbitt had made it through.
Voting should be so easy even the foreigners and the dead can vote.
Lockdowns weren’t a threat to liberty. It was those dirty people who refused the jab.
What a load of shit. Yet another skinsuited organization that believes freedom = slavery.
seriously threatened
It was delayed by all of three hours, I think.
electoral laws that made voting more difficult
How, exactly, was voting made more difficult?
Actually, reading through their page for the US, I believe they scored it too high but not for reasons they wouldn’t use.
Yeah, FH lists China as Not Free with a score of 9/100: 11/60 on civil liberties and -2/40 on political rights.
Taiwan gets 94/100
“China is ranked #107 out of 112 in the Freedom House Democracy ranking.”
LOL that seems more accurate.
Lay off the sauce, Nancy.
Somebody was holding the list upside down, lmao.
I’m sure her media enablers will try to say she actually meant Taiwan. But then. calling Taiwan “China” is really going to piss off the CCP. What to do, what to do??!!!!!
Calling Taiwan China doesn’t piss of PRC. That’s the One China policy that both are officially signed onto. Calling it a country or otherwise implying a permanent separate status does.
Maybe she meant RoC?
Clearly talking about Taiwan, aka ROC. Jim Hoft is a fucking retard trying to make hay out of that clip.
Note how she catches herself from saying “country” and changes it to society.
Or calls opposition to support of Taiwan, “commercial interests”. Neat little sidestepping there.
I figured “commercial interests” was code for (((them)))
Never change NYT, never change.
Why the Rent Is So High
New York City faces a housing crisis that’s making it harder for middle- and low-income people to live here.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/nyregion/why-the-rent-is-so-high.html
Looks to be 750 words or so and not one single mention of the NYC’s “temporary” market distorting rent controls.
NYT;DR but I’m guessing no mention either of the fact that we’re subsidizing crap like this.
NYT;DR
I laughed.
We just switched all our insurance (home and 3 cars) from State Farm to Allstate. We’ve been with State Farm since I got my license, and my family has been with them since 1968. When my wife called to cancel, they just said “Sure, no problem.” No asking why, no push back, just “Ok sure”. Do businesses just not want people’s money anymore?
Maybe they found it’s more cost effective to just cancel it than to try to talk people into staying.
Depends. Your business may be underpriced and the state insurance commission will only let them increase x% per renewal.
So you may have been statistically costing them money and they are more than happy to see you go. If you start up again as new insured it may be at a significantly higher rate.
OTH, could just be a bad agent. In this case that’s more likely.
Ray of Sunshine.
Sportsmanship edition.
Nice. I’m sure when he started toward the mound, everybody thought “Ruh-roh. Punch-up coming!”
🏳️🌈
“If I use my money to buy an advertisement, well that’s wrong you see”
That’s kind of what helped Trump in 2016: the media gave him so much coverage (along the lines of “oh my god, can you believe this guy” true) that it was the equivalent of a vast spend.
They normally do this with the left in a fawning kind of way.
If the media just stops covering Republicans and forces them to run completely on their own dime, it could be interesting.
There’s no way they can restrain themselves from outraging over the nearest Republican.
It’s so cute!
Love the big Barrett-style muzzle brake. For a .22.
y tho
It’s like owning a decaled, lowered, and spoilered riceburner with an unaltered production line engine.
Look the 5 inch exhaust adds 100s of HP.
Sppppppttttttthhhhhh……..
The sound of sadness
I often laugh when I see spoilers on sedans.
Most of the spoilers on cars are designed to have minimal drag and downforce so as not to change mileage.
They are purely aesthetic.
Good thing, being as how most of them are on FWD cars.
Oh shush you
*resumes gluing ground effect trim all around his 97 Civic*
My 2000 TT was FWD. That ass end got real light at speed. So much so, there was a recall to retrofit a lip on the trunk.
You can still flip the back around.
https://www.carsguide.com.au/oversteer/remember-that-time-audi-recalled-a-car-to-fit-a-rear-spoiler-75749
I didn’t let them redo the front control arms or the ESP. Didn’t really matter though. Ended up “lemoning” it out of my lease and slid into a S4.
a hairdresser’s car
Ouch.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/2003_Ford_Escort_ZX2_SE_in_grey%2C_rear_left.jpg
I once saw a kid in what appeared to be a plain old base model “ricer burner” and he had a big, plywood spoiler. I’ve always wondered if he was a class-A douche, or if he had a superb sense of humor.
The first one.
Julian’s Spoiler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovgiYzroMJo
Search took me to https://www.reddit.com/r/Shitty_Car_Mods
Man, I dunno. I’m trying real hard to chill and let people enjoy things, but $900 for a body kit for your 10/22?
A tad extreme for a good plinker that doesn’t need all that. Isn’t that several times the cost of the rifle? It’s been a while since I looked at those, but aren’t they around $350?
Yeah, for a box standard model. For $900, you could get a 10/22 Target with some decent glass.
If I had $900 to throw away on a 10/22 like that I imagine I’d have enough money to not give a shit what I spend it on or enough sense to not buy that.
I’m sure this is somehow going to be the fault of Texas now.
Mercedes driver involved in 13 prior wrecks before Windsor Hills crash that killed 5, D.A. says, was going 90 mph
Authorities revealed new details about Thursday’s crash and about the driver, Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, whose permanent address is in Texas and who is currently renting a room in Los Angeles while working as a traveling registered nurse.
Prosecutors said they are reviewing multiple previous crashes linked to Linton — both in and out of California — including one in 2020 that involved bodily injury in which two cars were totaled. They provided few additional details, however.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-09/mercedes-driver-in-13-crashes-before-windsor-hills-d-a-says
Or traveling nurses.
They managed to find the lone Texan in California.
“Linton’s attorney, Halim Dhanidina, asked the court Monday to continue her arraignment to October because he is reviewing her out-of-state history of ‘documented profound mental health issues.’ Dhanidina did not elaborate on those issues but said the Windsor Hills crash could be linked to them.”
So, “documented profound mental health issues”, plus 13 prior wrecks.
Really? None of that’s enough to keep somebody from hiring you as a nurse, for crying out loud? Or for the state to take away her license, or for an insurance company to say “nope”? OK, maybe she’s driving without a license or insurance, but that’s not mentioned in the list of charges.
I thought you meant her license to be a nurse.
And no, every hospital system will hire anybody with two characteristics, a pulse and a license to practice. I wish I had become a traveling nurse, shit.
Finally!