text
stringlengths 15
2.02k
| label
stringclasses 2
values | __index_level_0__
int64 0
9.9k
|
|---|---|---|
We keep making the same mistakes because most of the people in power have never experienced anything other than doing every task with a car no matter how small, and they live in environments where getting around by any means other than a car is looked down on. I know how impossible it is to imagine other means of transport, having grown up in the LA suburbs and living in a city now.Looking back on where I grew up now, I can see that 99% of the trips I did by car could have so easily been done by bike if bike routes existed. Or by bus if the bus came more than once an hour, trains were not even an option. It would have been unsafe to bike on the extremely wide, 50-60 mph roads and people would try to run me off the road and yell at me I’m certain, as they do whenever I try to bike around the suburbs now. Just thinking about how much money my family put into car maintenance and gas just go get to and from school blows my mind looking back. It’s such an unnecessary drain on family finances and increases poverty.There’s definitely a generational shift happening on this, not everyone of course but just the proportion who are open to other modes is increasing, but it’s slow and will take many more years sadly. When the culture is hostile to anyone not in a car, the only solution to traffic is more car capacity.
|
no
| 1,292 |
The biggest loser will appeal ,but while he's late with the payments charge him 10-15% interest and I know he spent more on his own lawyers trying to stay out of jail
|
yes
| 8,533 |
Timshel The goal is to keep Russia from next moving against a NATO member; we do not want a war with Russia itself, and $100B to prevent that is well spent.
|
yes
| 6,198 |
When Reagan took office, he cut the taxes for the richest Americans, and the deficit soared from $79 billion in 1981 to $128 billion after one year of his administration.The next year, the deficit soared again to $208 billion, and Republican presidents have been cutting taxes for the rich, and increasing the deficit by record amounts ever since!!!Republicans have no fiscal responsibility, but they do deflect blame for the debt they created to those who follow in their disastrous wakes.Clinton left office generating surpluses that could have wiped out the national debt in several years. But he was followed by GW Bush, who promptly gave the rich huge tax cuts, and the surpluses disappeared, and record deficits returned, which were then compounded by the collapse of the economy, due to GOP deregulation of the banks and Wall St., who sold specious "mortgage backed securities," which failed, and required government bailouts, and more debt for America!!!We have to stop electing Republicans if we ever want to end the disastrous cycle of "tax cuts, deficits, and borrowing," which they cause!!!
|
yes
| 9,212 |
Albert Petersen Just watch as the GOP spends millions of taxpayer dollars on investigations that will go nowhere Where did the Dems's investiagtions/impeacment hearings go? Same place.
|
yes
| 8,730 |
Speaking of Lightbulb MomentsI recently researched the man who led the resurgence of the right wing in America post FDR.Turns out his father helped a coup, that killed a populist leader, of a latin country, duly elected, and then, as a reward, reaped 100 million in oil money.And this son, marinated in the old man's catholic capitalism, then married a woman whose father owned billions in gold deposits. It meant estates on millionaires' row, servants, Christmas in Switzerland, and a media conglomerate where this scion concocted an ingenuous defense for the crimes of people like his father.He pointed at communism and threatened Americans it was coming here.Now, most of us know, as well as Orwell (a socialist) that communism is abhorrent. It's a comprehensive dictatorship with no ethics or accountability, that excuses any crime its leader deems necessary.It could not be more opposite our thoughtful Scandinavian democracies.We all are aware, aren't we that their North Sea oil profits went into a citizen's sovereign fund. Imagine how that must terrify the Kochs!My neighbors fathers were Swedes and Norwegians, who read and respected their "Wobbly" International Workers of the World newspapers.They arrived here in 1900 from countries that had been 99% literate for 200 years! As we face a sick planet, extinction, obscene concentration of wealth and profits for the one percent, the most forward step we can take is back to the Scandinavian example.
|
yes
| 7,298 |
The current situation demonstrates that McCarthy does not want power to reach some sort of goal, but that he only craves power as power, no matter how much it is spoiled or watered down. As long as he has the power he so much craves, he is good regardless of the actual and dangerous consequences the overall situation brings. This highlights at least two problems: on one hand until this stall ends, the legislative power is unenforceable and taken as an hostage, which is completely unacceptable, on the other hand it is clear that it's astonishing that moderate republicans are accepting the continuous concessions granted to their far right flank without blinking or raising any objections to oppose them and their agenda. In an healthy political context people who really are moderate and the eventual left flank of the party, supposing one still exists also in Congress but I am really skeptical about that, would have abandoned McCarthy as a consequence of any deal or concession granted to the far right, acting in the name of political integrity opposing any further stain to the party reputation. The fact that the negotiations are still ongoing and currently no one raised any objection is in and of itself really problematic because it is a sign that quite surely a big share of the party has no more political integrity to which it can appeal. They are not playing a clever political game anymore, they are once again opening the way to another political impeding catastrophe
|
yes
| 9,516 |
Oracle I think you are missing a couple points... like how they've managed to own the buy and sell side of advertising technology for over a decade. Not to mention how they've leveraged highly trafficked publisher content to incentivize customers into that buy/sell closed environment. This has allowed them to manipulate the pricing on both ends with little transparency. Beyond this Google has used concerns on "privacy" and Google Chrome to neuter competition that tries to operate within that very adtech marketplace and impact competition and customer's ability to exchange information. For the great Kraken that is Google and the multiple influences it has in adjacent products, the head doesn't know where its arm is - and it doesn't need to.
|
no
| 4,887 |
Is this the Dutch equivalent of Florida? Pretend everything is great, just a few slips here and there, but overall, it's great! We're great! Our history is great! Slavery? Racism? Just a blip! We beat it all back!That's a lie. Humans are complicated and so is life. Sitting in the comfort of our 21st century vantage point, we like to think we'd all be resisters, we all would have hid Jews in our attics. Hardly. And yet, we see from one recent president that rhetoric about "the other" always finds an audience, regardless of the lack of facts surrounding the vitriol. And from media coverage of the many wars and destruction happening all over the globe, only Ukrainians deserve our respect, help and money.Having an actual resister and an actual Nazi/Nazi collaborator side by side is honest. Some gave all, some (unwittingly, or knowingly) aided the enemy. If someone comes away from this exhibit thinking the resistance and the collaboration were all equal, they're an idiot. Only idiots (or actual Nazis) need signs that pointedly tell the visitor which side was evil.
|
no
| 1,833 |
Paul Carroll Actually, Microsoft already makes a wonderful operating system that loads in under 10 seconds. Buy a Surface laptop.If your PC isn't loading in under 5 minutes, it's because you bought from an OEM that loaded it with unnecessary bloatware or your employer has loaded multiple other apps to track your activity.
|
yes
| 8,109 |
China’s Mad Dash Into a Strategic Island Nation Breeds Resentment For years, Beijing has thrown its wealth and weight across the globe. But its experience in the Solomon Islands calls into question its approach to expanding its power. Down a dirt road outside the Solomon Islands’ capital city, past Chinese construction projects and shops where Chinese merchants sell snacks, a tribal chief tried to explain what it feels like to have a rising superpower suddenly take an interest in a poor, forgotten place desperate for development. For years, Beijing has thrown its wealth and weight across the globe. But its experience in the Solomon Islands calls into question its approach to expanding its power.
|
no
| 3,318 |
How are these "stations" allowed? What government agency thought letting our enemy open intelligence collection offices in our cities a good idea? Were large checks cashed from the CCP to some anonymous legislator? This whole thing stinks. Throw them out.
|
no
| 2,211 |
I use disposable email addresses for logging onto websites. I save these email addresses and passwords to notepad folder and open up the folder when needed to log into websites. I have about 100 logins saved in this folder. They can send me emails to those addresses but they dissolve into the cyber nether.
|
yes
| 6,793 |
"Susan Woodland, 68, left her position as director of collections at a New York City museum in May 2020. She relied on her substantial savings and money from investments to make ends meet, but acknowledged that finances were a little tight."The information about Ms. Woodland goes on to say that she's always been frugal so I just don't get this where money is tight stuff comes from as in addition to her "substantial savings" and "investments," she's undoubtedly collecting SS. The bigger problem with younger people who left the job market is that they accumulated savings, then later quit their job and lived off those savings and maybe some micro-part time work for a while and felt very liberated.But then the savings wind down, and they scramble to re-enter the workforce at square one, a little older, with a large hole in the resume, with no savings and less time to make up that spent money. It's a scary way to live. Especially if you are over 40 and have no trust fund or other source of significant income.
|
yes
| 5,282 |
Good Morning MD readers and lovers of great NYC anecdotes. This week's compilation had me roaring with so much laughter. “ … and every day, they’re out there on the sidewalk, pushing and shoving on a door that is clearly marked ‘pull.’” - one has to really wonder about that group of knuckleheads who invest others people's money but on a daily basis, continually pushes on a door that says "pull". "Are you checking out?" - not the best choice of words but they clearly stopped this woman in her tracks. If I had been that patient and heard that phrase, I would have stated "Hopefully not today." My favorite story was the woman worried about the man who left his hat behind. What a remarkable, tenacious and thoughtful person. And the bus operator was extremely helpful as well. Paying kindness forward. Thank you for the inspiring story James Roddy. Sidebar - in 1997, there was a song "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan. One of the lines went "calling all angels" which is what I am asking right now. My husband is having surgery on Wednesday to have that cancerous tumor in his lung removed. We are extremely nervous and anxious. I am calling all of my MD angels and friends for their prayers and positive thoughts that day. We could use them. Even though I have never met any of you incredible folks, I feel such warmth, love, support and friendship from you & your very kind words. TTake care everyone and have a wonderful week. Each day is a true gift. Love you all so very much.
|
yes
| 7,074 |
The economic malaise has been a cocktail brewing for at least 10 years. It cannot fix its productivity issues. It has a serious skills shortage and no real strategy or investment to upskill the workforce. It has a disastrous immigration policy which has seen a fall in skilled workers coming from neighboring countries. It has an aging, unhealthy population who have very little hope. The only point the government can spout as a success is its alleged leadership in supporting Ukraine (which is actually coming from the US mainly). The conservative party have acupunctured an endless list of problems that will probably take decades to fix, if ever they can.
|
yes
| 5,610 |
To me, the reason that the public embraced Uber & Lyft when they first emerged had a lot to do with what they were "replacing". Anyone who lived in an outer burough prior to 2010 remembers the experience of getting a cab only to be told they wouldn't take them to Brooklyn or Queens or anywhere outside of Manhattan (except for an airport). (Bear in mind that I am a white male...I can only imagine how much more difficult it was for people of color.)If you were fortunate to get a driver to take you, they would often take circuitous routes, assuming you weren't paying attention, to try and jack up the fare. Then there were those who tinkered with the meter so your $10 ride was $13. In other words, taxi drivers didn't do themselves any favors with a large swath of the population that lived outside of Manhattan.The next option, a car service, was unreliable at best. If it was rainy or rush hour, the phone might ring for 10 minutes...if they answered at all. Then you would have to call back 45 minutes later to find out where the car that was promised to arrive in 10 minutes was. Often it never arrived, leaving you stranded from doctors appointments or diner at a friends house.In short, people were tired of getting their chains yanked by the Taxi & Car Service industry. They were ready for something new , more efficient & seemingly better. And it was...for a while. Now it seems like those services too are starting to fail for all those in involved.
|
yes
| 5,440 |
mk Thing is, for diners in this echelon, Noma probably could quadruple the cost to diners, and still have no trouble attracting customers. Many of the same folks willing to pay $500 per person would be able and willing to pay $2,000 per person.
|
yes
| 8,304 |
The vitriol from some of these commenters toward Harry and Meghan, to people who they don’t personally know, is really eye-opening. Where does it come from? Why the deep-seated need to believe in the goodness of the aristocracy? Why would you so strongly defend one side of things when, again, you don’t know any of these people? At least Harry wrote a book and stood behind his statements. The other side relies on unnamed sources who refuse to stand behind their own. Yet people give them more credibility. Read the book before you judge. You don’t have to agree with it, but read it.
|
yes
| 5,603 |
Wood Thrush "The point of being a bit stern is to avoid creating dependency." Too late for that ?Re The comment - the * woman * isn't preparing meals? The household has 3 other members. I was 14 when my mother had a job that ran up to diner hour. We planned and I prepared the weekday evening meals, family of 5, as long as she had that job, for about 2 years. I was happy to be able to do this and felt a sense of pride being able to contribute to the wellbeing of the family (sister got to do the dishes...) Learning to take - some - responsibility is a life skill. What will be the expectations of the post adolescents?Cooking a simple meal is pretty easy. Videos for food prep are all over the internet. Buy some food! Fry up a few hamburgers, open a bag of salad mix, cut up a tomato, or put some chicken thighs in a pan pop in the oven for a hour with some potatoes, or boil up some pasta, open bottle of prepared sauce top with cheese and heat up some frozen green beans for example. Grilled cheese with tomato soup anyone?Put the money saved re take out into a appliance repair or home upkeep fund - voila!Put your foot down - as a friend once said, they're taking your kindness for weakness. It's not too late to start.
|
no
| 1,499 |
kr And your opening citing S10 a dozen? Where is that for heaven's sake? I buy local eggs from a farm nearby (surrounded by the suburbs) for $4.50 a dozen. I can also visit the chicken who laid them. Not saying everyone has a farm nearby, but cheaper eggs from heathy chickens are not that expensive in most places.
|
no
| 1,447 |
Tim that’s the thing, these policies don’t serve the welfare of the state. The goal of state government is the create a system that functions and benefits the whole. You can’t possibly say with a straight face that unions aren’t in it for themselves, that’s the whole point of unions. The downside of unions, or environmental laws etc is that other states don’t follow that path, as a result Democratic cities and regions are suffering losses while more open areas are growing. This is the way it is when you have 50 competing states and multiple regions, with that competition you must remain competitive.
|
no
| 4,031 |
Part IFeeling rather soggy here in L.A.EL• Sherlock Holmes’ signature response? “EL(7)ary, my dear Watson,” .EM• My mentors were EM(7) scholars and pioneers in the field of Early Modern Spanish and Spanish American women’s spiritual writings.• Dolphins and bats EM(4) sounds to locate objects and to communicate.IM• Not too long ago a hurricane was IM(8) in Florida and people rushed to board up their windows or to evacuate.• When I give food to one cat, the other feels IM(5)led to eat too and comes running.• “I can’t believe he feels IM(10) about his behavior, shows no remorse, and hasn't even apologized!” “Was what he did all that terrible?” “Absolutely, it was the last piece of chocolate cake!”• I’ll never forget a movie the teacher showed my class of girls in our Industrial Arts class, which emphasized the importance of using the right tool or IM(9) for a job. I wonder if they showed the same film the next semester to the boys’ class when we moved to Home Economics, and they switched to Industrial Arts? IT• Avocados were on special last week and cost $5.00 for three or $2.00 per IT(4) if you bought four.LI (1-3)• Today’s earworm: “He put a LI(4) in the coconut and drank it all up.”• The freeway speed LI(5) was 65 m.p.h. which is why everyone drove at least 80!• During her walk that evening, she was LI(4)ed by light as she passed under each streetlight. OR the artist chose to LI(4), or draw an outline of, the model’s portrait in charcoal.
|
yes
| 9,521 |
Andrew The 300 billion should go towards rebuilding Ukraine. It, along with all other frozen Russian assets, should be liquidated for this purpose. If Putin wants to make his buddies whole, that’s his problem.
|
yes
| 6,697 |
My husband and I recently stopped at one of the new and open NYS rest stops. It was refreshing to see so many healthy options in the food market. The inside of the building is much smaller and limits people to sit and eat. As far as the restrooms…they have been significantly reduced, to 4 toilets and a combination trough sink with soap, water and air dryer for hands. Not optimal.
|
no
| 211 |
Cloves A couple things.First, I believe the data you suggest obscure the problem by lumping two very different groups together. The 1% is a combination of high wage earners (doctors and lawyers, for example) and those with income from different sources. The wage earners pay a progressive federal tax, as noted, while investment managers and those with passive income pay a much lower rate. Income inequality is a complaint to make against lawyers (as a group), but not low taxation… it’s the ones paying on an alternate taxation schedule.Second, the federal income tax is only one part of the overall tax burden. Add in sales taxes and Medicare/Social Security, and that imbalance shifts dramatically (especially if you include the employer contributions).Third, those are on the basis of adjusted gross income. Which is after some tax reporting shenanigans can happen.When we can clearly see that wealthy politicians pay very little in federal taxes (look at released tax returns from politicians who make their money in the private sector… Romney and Trump, especially), it’s very easy to question whether anyone at the top is actually paying their taxes.
|
yes
| 6,975 |
Finding new friends sounds nice, but how's that going for Ukraine? There's not a lot of options for security for Armenia OR Nagorno-Karabakh. The fact that Turkey is in NATO seems like it would support Armenia, except for their irrational desire to continue the genocide they began at the start of the 20th century.Better yet, the OSCE Minsk Group (US, France, Russia) should just fulfill their obligations to the group and step in to forcefully open the corridor.
|
yes
| 5,804 |
rkr I love my EV. I have about 7500 miles on it and have driven up and down the West Coast several times to California and up into British Columbia. And I have no trouble charging it (it has a range of 300 miles) using apps that tell me where available chargers can be found.I have spent under $300 total on it (all at charging stations on the road), and when on the road it takes about 15-20 minutes to charge (I'm an old guy and appreciate the coffee and bathroom break every three or four hours if we are on a long road trip); the charging stations so far always also seem to have a place to grab coffee. My electric bill at home has seen zero impact (we also run on hydro in my area, not oil or coal).Best of all, it lays by the heel bad actors who control fossil fuels, to wit, Putin, the Saudis, the Iranian mullahs, Koch, and other nefarious actors. Oil will sooner or later be a dead asset. Good riddance.
|
no
| 1,919 |
I am reading a breathtaking novel I bought in November at Daunt in London -- and was happy to see it was started by B&N's Mr. Daunt: Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Polish Nobel Prize Winner Olga Tokarczuk, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions for a mere £8.99 -- about $12 these days (they save money by having the same covers for all books). I would never have found the book displayed at my local B&N (82nd and Bway), and as an author of many books and reader of many more, I go very far out of my way not to buy books at B&N or Amazon. But listening to books now, I'm embarrassed that I buy them from Audible, owned by the rapacious Mr. Bezos. Good article, Ezra, but a more vocal plug for indie bookstores and the history of BN moving into neighborhoods (inc. my own) and ending up shutting down the indies (Shakespeare and Endicott) would added a bit. It's great that 2 indies have opened recently in the 'hood again, one in the place where Endicott used to be, and a new Shakespeare on Bway and 69. Support your local indie, please, because they support the "lesser known" writers and the staff are usually readers. Also, readers might want to know that books displayed at BN are displayed because of money from publishers--at least this was the case back in the day.
|
yes
| 6,082 |
Michael Hoffman It would appear that you have not visited the "wide open southern border" where there were more than 2.4 million immigration arrests last year.If you want to seal the border and screen every vehicle that crosses, you will have to pay for it by vastly expanding enforcement efforts. That means abandoning the dream of a government so small you can "drown it in a bathtub."And as for cartel violence, like it or not it is part of a calculated business model that we have to comprehend if we are to have success in combatting it.Demand higher taxes for law enforcement. That will be popular.
|
yes
| 5,503 |
The first book to open (but not the last) is "Guns, Germs, and Steel".For some reason, left-wing academia hates this book's thesis, despite it being a straightforward NONracist way of explaining European global dominance after 1500 AD.
|
yes
| 7,807 |
Z 6 in 10 Americans have a home full of consumer goods they were goaded into buying by pervasive materialism. They're on fad diets because they have so thoroughly solved food security that they have precisely the opposite evolutionary problem and they got fat. They're complaining about First World problems on social media because their living standard is so high that they can afford to complain about petty grievances rather than, y'know, starving to death or dying in childbirth or dying from a minor scrape that went septic or any of the many, many other problems that people in poverty—REAL poverty, the kind you see only in the "Global South" these days—face.Most of those 6 out of 10 people have so little in savings not because capitalism is keeping them poor but because _consumerism_ is, and there's a difference.I say this as someone who makes well below the area median income for King County, Washington...and saves $1,000 or more every month.
|
yes
| 9,741 |
While the press does tons of good, there are times when it creates havoc. Giving Trump millions of dollars worth of free neon for many years has been one of its failings. It is my hope that the media will not destroy President Biden's successful run by equating the president with Trump. We should all know the differences between the two errors, but people now days only take time to hear headlines and not explanations. The press can be informers without creating chaos. I hope they will choose sanity over sensationalism.
|
no
| 2,725 |
Christine If you can afford a $4.5M property, you can afford those taxes. They are also essentially frozen due to Prop 13.
|
no
| 3,641 |
The US spends $800 billion per year for the DOD and we do not have a tank appropriate for a European land war? Mind boggling. When the debate heats up over the debt ceiling, I know where my vote against wasteful spending will be.
|
yes
| 7,318 |
There is no will in this city to build any housing that is remotely affordable for people who actually work for a living. Housing has become a real life hunger game. The only way anything gets built is with massive taxpayer subsidies to vulture capitalist developers who deign to designate 10% of what they build affordable. But have you ever seen what "affordable" is? A one bedroom for $2500 with an income limit of $48,000 and no substantial assets like retirement savings. The lucky tenant who wins that lottery will never be able to save for retirement or even for a $400 unexpected emergency.
|
yes
| 8,731 |
Zeke My library opened it's own cafe with, of course, coffee! And on weekdays it's often open late. A member of the Westchester Library system- a group of independent libraries in Westchester that allow for free interlibrary loan-it has tons of books/DVDs/CDs and other things available. <a href="https://whiteplainslibrary.org" target="_blank">https://whiteplainslibrary.org</a>/
|
no
| 2,359 |
Lea Lane, agree. My husband and I are newly retired at 70. We're both healthy and plan on traveling the next 10 plus years as long as we stay healthy. Others make different decisions. My boss at my law firm is still practicing at 80 and is the managing partner of the firm. He's healthy as a horse and runs every day and enjoys camping on the weekends with his grandsons. I have a friend who is an active professor of landscape architecture at 82. Dr. Fauci is in his 80's and only just retired. Nancy Pelosi is in her 80's. We should have all just died at 70? This is nuts.
|
yes
| 9,526 |
Eric B Wordle 580 2/6* Skill Luck W/L🟩🟨⬜🟩🟨 90 98 2 "Strong, Lucky"🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 99 74s "Excellent"Skill 99 Luck 86Today, a favorite opener left just two words. Actually, I had better than a 50/50 chance for the deuce. I didn't even think of the other word. Yesterday's Wordle 579 4/6* Skill Luck W/L⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜ 90 4 252 Ariel⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ 88 16 26 Sound⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜ 88 55 2 Butch🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 92 76 MuckySkill 89 Luck 38With just one vowel after two guesses, I feared that my streak was threatened. After considering that the "u" was probably the second letter, I searched for a "tch" ending and thought of "butch" which left me with two choices. Lucky and "ducky" came to mind but were ruled out by previous steps. They did bring "mucky" and "yucky" to mind. "Yucky" was, well, yucky so I chose "mucky."TGIF! Happy Friday!
|
no
| 4,743 |
Perhaps the author should simply not be paying $10 for eggs and $7 for milk. I routinely pay $4-5 for each, and that is without looking for a sale price. Of course, if your salary supports organic milk and free range eggs and you don’t mind wasting money, have at it. But don’t complain about the prices then.
|
no
| 721 |
Yvonne I've had an exit interview for every position I've left. One of the questions that's asked is "why did you leave?" Nothing seems to ever change.People are 100% conditioned by decades of poor corporate behavior to not accept counter-offers when they announce they are leaving, not to mention seeing in many cases anyone who makes waves being showed the door.There's also been a non-trivial amount of benefits erosion over my career. Pensions used to exist, they were replaced by 401k. Sick time used to be separate from vacation time, now it's glommed together into "PTO" -- as if you can schedule when you are sick. In the past, if you called out sick (for a salaried job), it was not a problem unless you abused it.The other biggie is health care premiums. I've seen them rise without fail year over year without fail, while the numbers of co-pays, fees, and other out of pocket expenses has continued to rise. When I had my kids (2000s), a birth was a $250 copay and that was it. Nowadays, having a kid is something like $3K out of pocket. Of course in countries where many of my colleagues work, they have socialized medicine so not only are births pretty much covered, but they also get payments and state-subsidized childcare.Here in the US we get $800B/yr in defense spending and lectures about socialism.
|
no
| 533 |
We put down 5% on our home. Granted, we got lucky, because we bought in 2018 and were able to refinance in 2020 to a 20 year with a low interest rate AND the value of our home went up $100k more than what we paid. If you have the ability to put down a smaller amount, do your research and make sure you're not overpaying for the value of the home. We have friends who bought in 2008 and are still underwater on their mortgage. Better to put the money you'd pay for a mortgage into your 401K than buy a condo or other property that won't gain value quickly. Check out "I Will Teach You to be Rich". Ramit Sethi has great financial advice for those of us who don't have inheritances and trust funds, and know what skipping a latte isn't going to make us millionaires.
|
yes
| 7,275 |
The NYT has provided a platform to writers who are framing gay men as drag queens, a throwback to a time when we were called homosexuals, stereotyped as effeminate, and persecuted. Furthermore, the use of “queer” that is now in vogue is still demeaning and I’d argue, opens a door to bigotry. I’ve said this many times: the term, LGBTQ, is regressive. It lumps together a swath of people who are historically considered sexual deviants. So, using it is the opposite of the goals of equality and individual liberty. The same goes for queer. I’m a 60 year old gay man in a 27 year relationship. I don’t dress in drag, I’m not a lesbian, I’m not transgender, I’m not queer. I’d like the NYT to stop giving voice to people, like the writer here, who perpetuate stereotypes couched in woke platitudes and narrow perspectives.
|
no
| 2,216 |
Phyliss Dalmatian It constantly amazes me when the likes of Mitch McConnell stand next to Pres. Biden and vulgarly allows credit to be given him for an infrastructure fund to benefit his supporters that he was adamantly against. This is the typical republican reaction when they're forced to pass on their spoils to the peons. The Republican Party does nothing for the average citizen with the exception of poisoning the conversation with lies and, as Ms. Conway smirks, alternative facts. Very sad .
|
yes
| 5,084 |
When would contract law enable one of the parties to the contract to change the terms unilaterally after the contract has begun (offer, acceptance, opening)? Such a clause in these franchise contracts, if they exist, should be considered null and void.
|
yes
| 7,785 |
And the trillions of dollars that the government will have to print to fund all this will certainly increase inflation. At some point the rest of the world will decide that investing in the US dollar is no longer a good idea.
|
no
| 3,207 |
sy Key are very expensive and the $400 charge is about right. When buying a new car it said that one should try and bargain for an extra key.
|
yes
| 5,900 |
Yeah...life is very GOOD in Florida. I moved to this state 30 plus years ago with only $4K to my name. Now, I am comfortably retired at the age of 58. Also, we don't have riots or homeless encampments in our streets. Clean-up after hurricanes is swift and efficient. We have access to world class healthcare because Mayo Clinic is located in Northeast Florida, which is a feasible drive for pretty much anyone living in Florida. I reviewed some of the education material that was removed from the school system and I agree that it was inappropriate. The examples and lessons were 95% focused on age-inappropriate or irrelevant material with maybe one simple question related to math at the end. I don't know how anyone would expect students to wade through layers of irrelevant material and get to the tiny question that is nowhere near robust enough to reinforce math skills. DeSantis added a requirement that students take a financial literacy class before graduating high school. I think it is comical that the author points out the rising cost of living in Florida is similar to other areas like California. Is it really Desantis's fault if people from other states like what they see and decide to move? DeSantis supports a responsible immigration program versus an open border. The former is beneficial while the latter overwhelms our infrastructure. We are ALL mopping up unreimbursed care for immigrants with our tax dollars and with premium increases on our health insurance policies.
|
yes
| 9,501 |
DeSantis seems to overlook the fact that college students (unlike elementary and secondary school students) are not a captive audience. They can leave and go to other schools in other states. So while he wrecks the university system of Florida (unfortunate for the students of New College), Florida's intelligent, curious, open, eager young minds will seek other places to learn and grow. The long-term consequences for Florida are not likely to be positive.
|
no
| 2,342 |
ainabella1 Where does it say most of their time is spent in the ocean? All I see is the vague line that they get some open play time - no specifics at all.
|
no
| 4,897 |
Jer Actually, for water coming from CA's State Water Project (SWP) system, the users pay most of the cost; general taxpayers pay a small-ish portion. The SWP contracts are complicated; figuring out how much a user pays per acre-ft is not straightforward. Each year, they take all of that year's deliveries and add it to all the "expected" deliveries for the remaining years of the longest term SWP bond (renewed frequently!) -- that's the denominator. Numerator: costs for that year plus present value of all outstanding bonds (but with a user-friendly 0% interest rate! often extending out 30+ years --- super big discount). I've grossly simplified things here, but that's a rough approx.O'Connor wrote the definitive text on this in 1994 (<a href="https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PCFFA&IGFR/PCFFA_23_SWPfin.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/bay_delta/california_waterfix/exhibits/docs/PCFFA&IGFR/PCFFA_23_SWPfin.pdf</a>).
|
no
| 2,883 |
We contort ourselves using mental shortcuts into believing that Israel is a democracy. It's not, it's a theocracy and will become even more so when, as Ms. Kershner writes: "If current trends continue, almost one in four Israelis, and about one in three Israeli Jews, are projected to be Haredi by 2050."The USA provides Israel with an average of $3.3 billion dollars in aid annually, more than any other nation state. ($150 billion since WWII according to the Congressional Research Service).For a tiny country with the geographical size and population density of New Jersey, whose uneducated, unskilled adult male population will very soon not be able to pull their own financial weight in their country, this is not sustainable or rational.
|
no
| 2,662 |
Michael H nope, nope. What needs to happen are restrictions on Ag expansion, particularly re export cash crops like wine grapes and nuts. Aquifers cannot be improved when farmers and ranchers dig deeper wells that become a business expense that taxpayers subsidize. Being a California, please further educate yourself.
|
yes
| 9,321 |
Krishna I don't think "red flag" laws will be the cure either. But maybe giving a used car worth under $4,000 to a lot of poor people who could qualify for such a program might help with the despair a great deal? The Republicans will yell, "They can take the bus!" They have rarely had to take a bus anywhere, but they are quick to assign that task to the poor. Republicans are like slave owners in that regard: "I'm not going to do it - I'm just going to tell you to do it!"
|
no
| 1,600 |
SPOILER do not open the link if you’re still working on the Bee! I really appreciate the Bee for expanding my vocabulary — this term (related to amniotic sac) appeared in another recent Bee, and if the word was also unfamiliar to you, you might enjoy delving a bit deeper with this reference:<a href="https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-sailors-charm.html" target="_blank">https://england.prm.ox.ac.uk/englishness-sailors-charm.html</a>
|
yes
| 8,187 |
Says the author: In 2011 he devoted an unusually large portion of his remarks at the World Day of Prayer for Peace not to his fellow Christians or even to members of other religions but to agnostics, who are “seeking the truth,” he said, “the true God, whose image is frequently concealed in the religions because of the ways in which they are often practiced.” For Benedict the “struggling and questioning” of agnostics was an admirable posture, a radical openness that ought to motivate believers to “to purify their faith, so that God, the true God, becomes accessible.”An insight amazing only to one immersed in ironclad belief emerging into reality. A reality understood by many humans long, long ago. Unfortunately, just what this “true God” consists of is debatable, and hence the agnostic and atheistic stance that searches beyond organized religion and more deeply into humanity.
|
no
| 4,346 |
Agarcia Yes, this war could have been settled using diplomacy, and a large white flag. Thus giving Putin an open door for his next invasion of wherever he wanted to go.Please remember that Putin promised Ukraine its borders would be respected, if it gave Russia its collection of nukes. We see how that worked out.
|
no
| 1,335 |
dl - it's not as if he was Einstein trying to crack open one more secret of the universe for the future benefit of humanity. Knocking a ball into a hole will carry on just fine without his special talent.
|
yes
| 8,390 |
$11.1 billion dollars to impact 160,000 commuters is about $70,000 per commuter who can arrive at Grand Central instead of Penn Station (both are central midtown locations).The question isn't so much of is it nice or not. Rather, is the cost commensurate with the benefit or the alternative use of $11.1B?Your answer may be yes or it may be no.
|
yes
| 5,316 |
What this reminds me of is a UK/European parliamentary system, where no one party has a majority, so a governing coalition must be formed.The Republicans need to admit that they have actually split into two, or possibly three, parties. One that wants to govern, and is open to potentially cooperating with Democrats so that legislation can pass the Senate; one that wants to investigate (i.e. harass) the executive branch endlessly for the next two years in lieu of governing, and one that wants to burn it all down. The problem is that I'm not sure there's anyone in that first group. The second faction isn't large enough to claim a majority. And I've no idea why anyone is supporting the third group, because they seem incapable of moving beyond simply being anti-government, and really, why give the store away to a group that only wants to throw sand in the gears for the first two groups?McCarthy would probably give away far less if he shifted gears and extended a hand to moderate Democrats, saying "hey, could you support me if we keep the wingnuts out of the committee chairs, toned down the revenge investigations, and tried some compromise to actually legislate?"But that would require McCarthy to actually be a leader (which he's never shown any sign of being), and someone more interested in governing than in power (no evidence for that either). Plus, most of his party, and probably his constituents would burn him at the stake.Oh well.
|
yes
| 5,105 |
Janet MICHAEL It will be interesting to see what DOJ does when the Committee starts wanting to see the information for open criminal investigations. Will they try to exonerate Trump and their group from all alleged crimes including the documents found at Mar-a-lago?
|
no
| 4,243 |
In 2012 about the time the Economist came out with their Brazil will take over the UK as the 5th largest economy coverI I met my pretty well connected future Brazilian attorney brother in Law. I was waxing poetic considering some investments in his São Paulo condo. As I read the highlights he couldn’t stop laughing and said why do so much of the Brazilian middle class want to emigrate. later my sister asked what did you say to scare my brother.The lusosphere is a unique group of cultures. Low expectations, low political involvement, and a broad point of view that can best be summed up as ethical relativism. As an example try finding some one to buy your house if you insist on putting the actual sales price on the tax documents.What I have seen is corruption is rampant on both the left and the right. A scandal some years ago showed many female politicians of both stripes were collecting the child family purse credit while serving as sitting members of Congress. If I have a gripe with the left they are less likely to see the corruption in their own party.I was talking to a respected professor of international business and remarked it just seems with their protectionism, vast reserves of forests, minerals, gas and Oil that the country should have a higher standard of living across the board. His comment even accounting for 10 per cent corruption, Brazil with a Western European style Judiciary, values, and efficiency should be the Australia of South America.
|
no
| 4,435 |
wise brain Capitalism is indeed the problem. The workings of the system encourage exactly the corruption that you describe. This is not to say that socialist economic systems are not prone to corruption, but the very essence of capitalism, as practiced in the US, facilitates these types of activities. Capitalism encourages the exploitation of labor, however defined, to make profits for investors. Following the logical extension of this profit motive leads to the development of monopolies and the hijacking of rules that were designed to protect patents to instead lock out competitors. That's on US-style capitalism 100%.
|
no
| 1,647 |
Many good comments, most people supporting working longer have fairly good jobs that they love. The push by our new congress to diminish or end Social Security and Medicare and bankrupt companies who walk away with millions and no pension responsibilities, should encourage a reread of article. Little attention is paid to why immigration efforts fail, in analyzed in this article. Japan's immigration policies are very limited in a culture that venerates oneness. A more open immigration policy and cultural attitude change might help. I firmly believe diversity is the US' saving grace: Ideas, skills, varied education of immigrants all helped with US innovation. Sadly, many Americans, whose foundational values that helped them to succeed, came from other countries, have forgotten this.
|
yes
| 8,992 |
Dr. O'Connell is doing hugely important work. I volunteered with a shelter in Boston some years ago, and the eye-opening nature of the work is well captured here. Slowing down and taking the time to listen to someone who is otherwise always ignored can do wonders, over time. And the complexity of the issue is always beyond what government can understand. The thought in the late '80s that homelessness would be solved in 4 years is funny, in retrospect, but also so true at the time, even into the '90s. And the subsequent focus on numbers and data by so many foundations is not helpful for this problem, for reasons that are shown here. You have to meet people where they are, on their own terms, as Dr. O'Connell makes so clear. And you have to accept that they are human beings with stories and thoughts and lives that are as valuable as yours. That gets lost so often. Thank you for taking the time to make that clear.
|
no
| 2,902 |
My town of Dennis, Massachusetts does not allow ADUs despite a severe housing crisis, including for the elderly. I can see the need despite not needing it myself. After joining an effort to change zoning, and getting it added to our town meeting warrant, it was summarily removed by our Board of Selectmen so that it could not be passed by voting on it. Real estate investment here in a resort centric economy influences everything and takes precedent over community. Over 70% of housing stock on Cape Cod is occupied for less than 3 months per year, and locals cannot come close to being able to afford a home, or even rent. It’s easy to say that we should simply elect local politicians who support zoning and planning reform, but it hasn’t happened in my lifetime. Our governance is stymied by economic forces in the form of real estate investment by outside money.
|
yes
| 8,231 |
CM the code red is likely to collect all the work to date and to get the stuff out the door. ChatGPT is even based on technology that google released as open source, in prior years. For a while now, Google has an equivalent called LaMDA that is available to a limited number of experimenters, but isn’t considered public.
|
no
| 2,486 |
Santos is a small island in a wide, swirling sea of corrupt campaign financing. What is the point of having a $2900 individual limit in a congressional race when there are ways of evading that with donations in the hundreds of thousands, in the millions of dollars? It is all a lie.
|
yes
| 7,259 |
Incorporeal Being the article says that 50% of his proposed units would have been affordable (aka income restricted) - the councilwoman just decided that they weren't "affordable enough". It was not a matter of 87% market rate. per another commenter - <a href="https://nyti.ms/3kh2iNZ#permid=122659803" target="_blank">https://nyti.ms/3kh2iNZ#permid=122659803</a> - "The developer initially proposed 25% subsidized units, then 40%, then 50%. According to Gothamist, "final proposal ... 457 market rate apartments, 91 apartments for two-family households earning around 125 percent of the Area Median Income or AMI, 255 apartments at up to 50 percent AMI, and 112 apartments for the city’s lowest income residents, who earn less than $32,040 for a family of two."
|
yes
| 8,815 |
I wish I shared your confidence, but I've personally witnessed beating such as these by Seattle cops growing up. While they didn't kill the people, they did serious permanent harm. In one case a friend of mine. A 17 year old girl, had her face smashed into a cash register over a $20 bag of heroin, requiring reconstructive surgery. The cops were congratulated. She went to jail for resisting arrest and spiraled further into drugs and died, instead of receiving treatment. This has gone on forever. The only difference is there are a few cases caught now due to prevalence of cameras.
|
no
| 631 |
It is an omission to not mention how many thousands of owners of buildings in traditional black neighborhoods, such as Harlem and Bed-Stuy sold their properties for huge sums of money to new residents who could afford this but are not black themselves. I bought a home in a gentrifying neighborhood for $430,000 in 2003 and when someone who left the neighborhood because of costs gave me grief about this inflation, all I could think (but not say aloud) was that I financed an old-timer's retirement down South (I think she moved to Georgia). A step in this process has been left out of the article - how many black-owned buildings have turned over to new, non-black owners in the last 20 years?
|
no
| 2,851 |
Did President Biden deliberately deceive, obfuscate, lie and cover-up the issue of having classified material? Is he a known lair and a criminal? Has his business ever been found guilty of fraud and tax evasion?With Biden, there was and remains no nefarious intent. With Trump, he lied and held on to this material so he could sell it to Putin or to MBS or to any high bidder because, well, that's what career criminals do. Sure, investigate Biden. But let's also hear the full Trump story and what he intended to do — or maybe already has done — with the classified material. It will be an eye-opening revelation.
|
yes
| 9,105 |
In answer to your question "what drives the Freedom Caucus?" well... Freedom.We don't want our children to be indoctrinated into false progressive propaganda and then have our entreaties waved away as "book banning". It's not. We simply want children to be presented age-appropriate material and allowed to form their own opinions based on fact.We don't want the government used a tool to punish your opponents. Letisha James ran on a "get Trump" platform.We recognize that earning an using money as you see fit is freedom. Example.. if you want to pay off someone's student debt, please do so. Don't reach into my pocket. Liberal politicians become insanely wealthy by ruining the lives of those who work hard to achieve freedom and to boot, they produce nothing.When your candidate is about to win an election and suddenly they lose. Well yes, we need to examine what lead up to it. Misleading reporting by MSM? Sudden election law changes? Statistical anomalies? Felons voting? Condescension does not inspire confidence. It infuriates. And well face it, you don't care about "democracy" you care about your agenda. Ever since Trump got elected all Democrats have done was undermine him.You're complaining about a few brave Republicans standing against the tide of disaster. Where 30.. 40% of people's retirements are wiped out, death in the Ukraine, a flood of migrants... more power to them. I stand in awe and admire their braveryTyranny of the deluded masses vs the Freedom Caucus!
|
no
| 4,790 |
If boosters are allowed to give directly to football & basketball recruits, millions of dollars will be flying to lure them to either big boosters colleges or colleges with wealthy alumni. What a mess. I thought only legitimate companies were allowed not boosters. It’s the Wild West. A recruit is offered $13M to sign for a particular school. A QB has a $3.2M deal. The Tarheel player is a positive. He made the dean’s list in business & is staying another year & will probably get that degree.
|
yes
| 8,016 |
I agree that the US could do well with low-cost geographic commerce partners outside of China. Even if shipping times revert to pre-COVID durations, having alternate suppliers improves our bargaining power and reduces risk of stock-outs. One factor to consider would be the working conditions in Mexico. While I appreciate an affordable jacket, it isn't worth it if it was made in a distressing environment. The human costs of labor need to be weighed against the benefits of near-shoring in Mexico.
|
no
| 1,239 |
Economists often use the term "price discovery," because the reality is that there are often many prices for the same product or service and prices always in flux. Yesterday I filled up my car with gasoline and noticed that prices in my city ranged from $3.50 to 3.20 a gallon within several mile radius. So it should not be a surprise that data about inflation can be ambiguous.My bird's eye view as a consumer is that prices increases are slowing as consumers adjust and supplies do as well. Restaurants jack up prices and diners will pay it the first time, but then may dine out less or choose a less expensive entree or skip dessert, and the restaurant restrained in further price increases.
|
no
| 4,009 |
Kitchen Witch Homes in this price range are almost always staged - it's an investment of around $10,000 that easily increases the selling costs by factors of that amount. The point is to make the home look elegant but inpersonal, like an upscale hotel room. This way the buyers are not overwhelmed with another person's personal point of view, and can picture themselves in the home. When we were looking at homes in the Oakland hills last spring, all in the 1.5-2 million dollar range, every single one was professionally staged (though admittedly some far better than others)
|
no
| 3,999 |
Having been born in southern California in the mid 1950's, I must say that the Palm Springs house speaks to me. So Cal and I grew up together. At that time most buildings I came in contact with were newly built containing features in this house. Starting with the slab on grade concrete floors finished with terrazzo in the new schools I attended, and in the banks, grocery stores, and medical centers. The simple kitchen with wall ovens and sans "industrial" style ranges so popular now. The sliding glass, particularly the corner pair in the bedroom, opening to a backyard with lots of concrete surrounding a pool and a covered patio. And let us not forget the slightly sloped flat roof, the clerestory windows and the smooth exterior stucco. I guess what I'm saying is that for those of us of a certain age in southern California, these things are historical. I can't believe I have lived long enough that they are building 'em like this again. I happen to like many of these features for their simplicity and durability. I didn't see a starburst clock though!
|
no
| 99 |
You’re glossing over the practicality of “save-us-all” inventions to draw our ire – meanwhile, any hope in the current administration and what Prabhakar, as the President's Chief Advisor for Science & Technology, can do? "…fueled by the $700 billion we spend annually on research and development, public and private combined" - Prabhakar<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/10/21/remarks-of-dr-arati-prabhakar-on-achieving-americas-aspirations" target="_blank">https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/10/21/remarks-of-dr-arati-prabhakar-on-achieving-americas-aspirations</a>/ Think, or read farther into the NY Times, for examples of how clean energy is currently making a path forward. Steady progress … like Thomas Edison and his team, even if they failed at times like the electric pen (often considered predecessor of the tattoo needle). Please untether from rich privilege ideas like flying cars (a security issue) - they already have private jets.
|
no
| 1,778 |
I've presented work in The Frigid Festival, and found that it was one of the best run, most professional situations I've worked in.I've also seen many shows in the festival and at their various venues over the years. The entire organization is one that presents a huge amount of wide-ranging work. They are one of the essentials of downtown and independent theater. They also treat artists fairly and with respect, and work to give us the best possible venue for our work.To all of the commentariat publicly bewailing this decision, and commenting on how you can't say ANYTHING these days, I'd like to ask how long you have supported independent theater? Which are your favorite venues? Who are some of your favorite performers?For that matter, a man who calls himself a feminist and reserves the right to define who is a woman is not someone I'd consider a feminist.Do you know how you get into fFigid? If you are one of the first submissions at midnight on the day that applications open, you are in. No questions asked. And for many years this has been a great process.I think that Erez and the rest of his staff made the correct decision.For those who are so upset that a voice they want to hear is being silenced, I recommend that you produce his show. That's what independent theater is all about.
|
no
| 3,859 |
The conservative, naive and undemocratic sentiment of rural and small towners is not an American exclusive position, but rather found in many affluent nations. An interesting analogy is Germany in the post-annexation era of communist East Germany since 1989. East Germany was a drab country that began to change drastically after the Berlin wall collapse. West Germany spent trillions of Euros in upgrading the East's dilapidated infrastructure, educational institutions and encouraging West German businesses and factories to expand in the new Eastern provinces, thereby creating vast amounts of well-paying jobs. But it took time and that created a sort of resentment towards the former West Germany and the notion that it was looked down to by westies. These sentiments were exploited by extreme political office-seekers, many of which with communist and Nazi sentiments, that ultimately led to the rise of the Alternative for Germany (AFD) party that came in with the third largest number of votes in the 2017 federal elections but declined to fifth in the 2021 elections. However, AFD remains a powerful party in the former East German provinces. Considering the huge support that Germany has given to the Eastern provinces over the last 3 decades has not turned out to be the hoped-for bonus for fostering a strong local democracy in the East.
|
yes
| 8,062 |
The Bayonne container terminal truck gates only open from 6am-4pm M-F. If traffic is such a concern, why don't they just extend hours outside of commuting times, rather than force NJ taxpayers to pollute a densely populated city for their convenience?
|
no
| 336 |
Jamelle Bouie proves once again he is the acme of the New York Times Opinion staff. Demolishing every false justification for open carry laws with deadly accuracy, he leaves the field open for those like me who would ban all guns in private hands. The only useful function of a gun is to maim and kill. Target practice can be easily performed by lasers. You say you hunt for food? Fine, use the same technology your forefathers did when they actually had to subside on hunting. They survived, so will you. I say ban all guns in private hands. Melt them down, turn them into solar panels. The real reason we are in this pathetic state, is that the Republican party needs all the emotional hot button topics it can gin up, for if they ran on their true values of Ayn Rand plutocracy they would never win an election. Apparently sheer racism is not enough.I'd love to see all weapons disappear but the world is not ready for that. Until then the license to kill should be under the strict control of the military, who in turn should be under the strict control of civilian leadership. There was a United States of America just like that, in living memory. The rest of the world looks upon us with pity and fear, as we sacrifice more and more innocents on the altar of greed, to appease Mammon.
|
yes
| 9,833 |
Insurers have the unique power to exchange measurable compliance with a package of police reforms for reduced premiums. Insurers could target bad cops at the center of many of these cases by focusing on the number of civilian complaints alleging violence or the amount of civil judgments or settlements associated with an officer. For example, premiums could be reduced for departments that terminate officers with more than 5 civilian complaints alleging violence who are defendants in cases that resulted in judgments or settlements exceeding $1MM. In hiring, the first 3 years of employment for rookies could be treated as an extended probationary period during which the rookie officers are employees at will and not eligible for union membership and the PBA ‘s advocacy. To join the union they must complete the probationary period with less than 2 civilian complaints alleging violent behavior. This may help temper police aggressiveness during the early formative years of an officers career. There are dozens of best practices that could be suggested, of course each would run into significant roadblocks with the police union and its collective bargaining agreement. However if the tradeoff results in materially reduced premiums and municipalities are open to sharing those savings with police in terms of higher starting salaries, larger raises, bonuses tied to compliance with the reforms, etc. there may be a path forward .
|
yes
| 8,981 |
Mercy. It is clearly a frightened Jim Jordan who is trying to weaponize government--a rather transparent and hopefully doomed attempt today to spur a delegitimization of the accountability coming his insurrectionist way. Forget the popcorn, open a nice FLX riesling and enjoy the surreal play.
|
yes
| 5,700 |
We keep on repeating that the Chinese Government is authoritarian and the people are repressed. This is just not true. China has an open door, anyone can leave and go for studies in any universities. Anybody can go to vacation whether its South Korea, Japan, USA or Russia. In fact, tens of millions of people are overseas right now for that. Over 90% of them return home. 30 yrs ago less then 50% of university students return home but now numbers are 90%. I worked in China for many yrs and will be heading back there for a few months soon. The Chinese government is similar to the big Corporation that I am working for. You essentially start at the bottom and in order for you to move up, you have to be the best mayor, regional governor or manager and then you get promoted to the CEO like Xi did. This might not be for everyone but it does produce effective governance that gets thing done. No, it is not an authoritarian regime like the ex USSR or North Korea where people are limited from traveling overseas due to defection risk
|
no
| 2,547 |
MS has a huge stake in OpenAI, which is essential replacing coders (and programmers). Duh - couldn't see this coming?
|
no
| 315 |
Just as we enter a new era of open knowledge, where the old ways and gates are obsolete because if you can get online you can study anything, and learn anything, nevertheless we shall keep the old ways and gates.Does anyone else see how this situation no longer adds up? This is politically, technologically, and epistemologically unsustainable you know. It's the age of open knowledge. The old gates are dead. Sooner or later, people will ask why they strive to know, when society so meanly winnows them for the effort and loads them as a parting gift with life-crunching debt.History does move forward, and knowledge no longer operates according to the economic principles of scarcity. The old gates are exactly that.
|
yes
| 7,114 |
Saguaro Sunrise I've been to Butte. 1. The mine was underground (like Resolution) until after WWII. Resolution will never be an open pit mine-the copper is too deep.2. Butte gets far more rainfall than SE AZ.3. Just write a law that an endowment must be created to keep the pumps running (plus in AZ the water would be really really valuable so probably pay for the pumps directly.4. What about Bingham Canyon in Utah? Big open pit like Butte. No massive environmental problems. Hmm seems we can solve this.There, case solved.
|
yes
| 7,733 |
Raise the age to obtain full social security benefits, says Brett. A few thoughts on this, since I retired in 2021 and have seen both sides now. To borrow further from Joni Mitchell, I really don’t know finance at all. Here they are:1. The average lifespan in the US is 78. That is as high as it is primarily due that wealthy people live much longer due to access to great health care. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but have several friends in their 70’s who are on Medicare. They’ve already been put out to pasture. Raising the SS age will shorten those golden years to about 10 for a lot of people. Health care in this country, particularly for the poor and old, isn’t very good.2. Re Gail’s point about construction workers and other jobs that require physical exertion, many of the people who work these jobs have bad joints, damaged muscles, and are no longer capable of even being greeters at Walmart. What would Bret suggest they do, write code?3. 40 percent of retirees count on SS for their entire retirement income. Many workers now over the age of 50 have no retirement savings, because it costs too much to live. So this percentage isn’t going down in the future. What’s to become of people who work for 46-48 years, and cant make ends meet.The problem is a difficult one, but there are thankfully less Gen Xers than Boomers, by about 20 Million people. That will ease things somewhat, but ONLY if the corporations and wealthy are taxed. Starting very soon.
|
no
| 187 |
DK Yeh, I don’t think so. Fans’ relationships to the game are complex, and there are undeniable moral arguments to be made over having athletes face possible injury for entertainment, however you enter the realm of hyperbole when you claim most fans come to the games to see carnage. I suspect most fans come to the games for the excitement of the game itself: the athleticism, the strategy, the unknown result, the often stunning displays of physical ability - in both its graceful, and violent incarnations. But do they want to see carnage? Injury? Blood? I bet most do not. In fact I would suggest if the NFL managed to miraculously play an entire season without serious injury, no fan would “miss” the concussions and torn ACLs. As I say, there is a moral discussion to be had over football, but name-calling and obvious exaggeration don’t open the door to debate and change; they slam it shut.
|
yes
| 7,486 |
As someone arrested by Google for protesting their lack of commitment to climate action, I sympathize with the writer. Just today we are told that despite the Paris Accords, the IRA, and increased installation of renewable energy, overall carbon emissions in the U.S. increased 1.3% last year. And this is probably under-reported, as the true extent of methane leakage from the extraction, delivery, and storage of natural gas is not known.While a majority of Americans now believe that Global warming/climate change is happening, this is soft knowledge; they don't know the science. From another recent report, K-12 students receive only 3-4 hours of climate change instruction per year in the U.S., if any at all. Political leaders aid in this by referring to an existential crisis--what most people interpret as something in the future--not serious now, if they know the meaning of the phrase at all. My guess is these same political leaders have not read the IPCC reports specifically meant for policy makers, which explain the science with the likelihood of catastrophic events. Congressmen don't even read legislation before voting on it.Google continues to offer L.C.D. cartoons on its web page, though they may have offered preventive information during the height of the pandemic, but still no button for climate change. And the fossil fuel industry, are betting that they can extend fossil fuel dominance forever, through misinformation in the media and controlling politicians.
|
no
| 231 |
1bluecollarman Before addressing this comment, I do wish to thank the journalist for her clarity regarding facts and reality. As a senior, still working full-time in a field that crosses both medicine and education -- speech-language pathology -- I have friends in the same age group, who have invested in properties in Florida. It is hard for me to grasp, but there still is that pull of 'warmer, winter weather.'That said, I want to address the issue of Democratic 'regimes' in this comment. As a resident of Massachusetts, I live in a small, beloved home that I have owned for about 25 years. When I struggled financially, I was fortunate to receive grants that provided the means to renew my home so I can live comfortably and safely for years to come. We are now living in a fully corporatized America. Referring back to my work, education and medicine are now driven by this. Quality of service has fallen victim to profits even as both fields struggle to maintain service providers. My island has been a gateway over the last several years, to investors and wealthy home-owners who do not regularly practice climate and environmental safety, but instead, overbuild in a fragile setting. Housing has become unaffordable. Is this a MA dilemma? Hardly. I am looking forward to the 'regime' that has recently been elected to provide the legislation necessary to make a home for all people, providing meaningful healthcare and education for all. I endeavor to do so in my own work.
|
no
| 3,858 |
The biggest problem with readily available pornography is teens and young adults get the impression the only partners worth considering have 10 star bodies and faces and have sexual skills above and beyond the average guy/gal.Pornography can be educational displaying techniques to please a partner but if it sets the goal of bedding only gorgeous guys /gals with expertise in sexual performance many will be frustrated in their quest.
|
no
| 2,492 |
How. Jr. Biden managed to enjoy a $50,000.00 per month Board of Director's job for a Ukrainian company is still a mystery to the rest of the world, except for Joe Biden and all all his political supporters in the Democrat party. One right and honest answer to this mystery would close the entire investigation matter for good. Hillary C. never gave an honest answer to what exactly happened when the then US ambassador was killed in Libya, and then she lost her bid to the White House to Donald Trump because ordinary people were tired of her evasive behavior and attitude in those days before the Trump era.
|
no
| 1,402 |
CA Governor Newsom passed a similar gun law in response to the TX vigilante abortion law: “SB 1327, allows Californians to sue those making, selling, transporting or distributing illegal assault weapons or ghost guns for at least $10,000 in damages. Gun dealers who illegally sell firearms to those under the age of 21 could also be liable for the same damages.” (From ABC news) A woman would first have to have the right to an abortion in that state’s constitution in order to be allowed to sue for denying her that right. So it wouldn’t work where abortion is illegal, but could be effective against the “crisis clinics” and anyone targeting abortion doctors or pro-choice organizations in legal states.
|
yes
| 9,537 |
Blue Isle in Red Sea,We are too dependent on China and Saudi Arabia. China is a big threat. They are spending 250 billion a year on defense,much more than almost every country other than the US. Xi and Putin just gave the far right extremists and excuse to bloat the defense budget,although it did need adjustment for inflation and to factor in China,Russia and Ukraine. Every defense dollar wasted is a loss for social programs that could produce growth, prosperity and improved quality of life. Our supply chain is also too dependent on China, which is getting very aggressive in the Taiwan straits. 90 pct of advanced 2 nanometer semiconductor chips,which will go into the next generation iphone, are made in Taiwan by TSMC. Only 12 pct of our semiconductor supply is made in the US. It could expand to 14 pct by 2030. We made most of the chips in the 1950s and 60s but the far right extremist party-Reagan,Bushes and Trump, and their majorities in Congress wrecked manufacturing by offshoring all the jobs(Biden is reversing this). Their policies have been very destructive to the middle class. We need to pay school teachers a fair wage. They educate kids and help them develop their potential in school. We also need to promote a STEM culture. If we fail, China is going to firmly be in the saddle as the next sole superpower in 50 years. Right now, the US is very competitive thanks to Biden's policies which are preserving the lead.
|
yes
| 7,341 |
Peter Kalmus I agree with you on your scientific analysis. However, if we stopped using fossil fuels today, untold billions would also die from starvation, as essential agriculture and transportation would cease. Further, trillions upon trillions of dollars of capital infrastructure would become useless. Therefore, we must outline an economically viable plan for drastically reducing fossil fuels in industry, agriculture, and transportation. And we have to get buy-in from the capital holders that are invested in the fossil fuel industry for such a transition. This is actually the work of saving the planet, maybe more so than getting loud at a conference of peers.
|
no
| 2,844 |
Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s when I attended college, State Universities in Texas and Oklahoma provided a first-rate education at a price that I could pay with earnings from a summer job and being a janitor/delivery boy for a pharmacy during the school year. Then, the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma had a mission to educate the people of their state. Many if not most students whose parents had struggled through the Depression and World War II knew that a college education was their personal path to a better life. Those of us who got what was basically a free education have repaid the nation by paying taxes worth trillions of dollars from income we otherwise would not have made as uneducated workers. The U.S. needs to return to policies that recognize that a free education is actually the best investment it can make in its human capital. And students need to be made aware that a university education is more than a carefree social life -- it is their path to a satisfying and prosperous life. It is an ethos we seem to have forgotten but must relearn.
|
no
| 1,200 |
Ck smithson They could cut their advertising budgets a bit: <a href="https://www.ahip.org/news/articles/new-study-in-the-midst-of-covid-19-crisis-7-out-of-10-big-pharma-companies-spent-more-on-sales-and-marketing-than-r-d" target="_blank">https://www.ahip.org/news/articles/new-study-in-the-midst-of-covid-19-crisis-7-out-of-10-big-pharma-companies-spent-more-on-sales-and-marketing-than-r-d</a> . It also clear that almost every aspect of health care in this country is oversold. There is a good bit of room to adjust (but given the free rein given it will no doubt be very difficlt to readjust),
|
yes
| 5,102 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.