KevonLooney

joined 1 year ago
[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee -3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

DC Trump's it in significance

Looks like you need to post about politics less.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 4 points 2 months ago

True. One of the biggest parts of modern-day American exceptionalism is thinking that only America has these problems. People who claim to dislike America unknowingly put it on a pedestal as "the worst thing ever", without acknowledging the very similar problems in their own backyard.

The main point of American exceptionalism is that "America is different from other countries", to an advanced degree. Some people mean "good" when they say "different", but it's not necessary.

American exceptionalism is the belief that the United States is either distinctive, unique, or exemplary compared to other nations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_exceptionalism

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

It's true. In Massachusetts they had to use the NE Patriots plane to hide a shipment of PPE from China and protect it with the national guard (state military force):

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/02/bob-kraft-patriots-plane-massachusetts-masks-160936

For weeks, Baker has warned that Massachusetts is in desperate need of more protective equipment including masks, sanitizing wipes and gowns for health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, especially as cases are expected to surge sometime between April 7 and April 17 in Massachusetts.

The Republican governor has raised those concerns with Trump. He told the president the federal government was outbidding Massachusetts on equipment — even after advising states to work on getting their own supplies. A week later, the Bay State was still being outbid and had only received a fraction of what it requested from the Strategic National Stockpile. Baker grew increasingly frustrated at a recent news conference, saying he’d seen confirmed orders for millions of pieces of gear “evaporate” before his eyes.

More details from other states:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-admin-seizing-ppe/

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 10 points 2 months ago

I mean, I would assume that someone who doesn't get a new enough car doesn't have enough money to pay for commercial insurance. Also offering people rides on the street is a bad idea (because you can get robbed) and possibly illegal. This is just running an unlicensed taxi service. Gypsy cabs have been around for hundreds of years. It's not a good idea.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 24 points 2 months ago (5 children)

That's a terrible idea. His insurance won't cover him in an accident. If a passenger is injured he may be on the hook for the medical care.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago

Cool story bro

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 0 points 2 months ago (9 children)

Wikipedia is one click away:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea

Formerly the third-largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 km2 (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea began shrinking in the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 2007, it had declined to 10% of its original size

former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the shrinking of the Aral Sea "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters".

The Aral Sea region is heavily polluted, with consequent serious public health problems. UNESCO has added historical documents concerning the Aral Sea to its Memory of the World Register as a resource to study the environmental tragedy.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 8 points 2 months ago

The more expensive eggs taste better and only cost a quarter more. Would you pay 50¢ to make your breakfast taste better? You should.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago

That's not how insurance works. They monitor average speed, acceleration, and braking, if anything. There's no correlation between mouth movement and accidents. What if someone is chewing gum? What about adjusting dentures? What about drinking coffee while parked?

Show me an actuarial table that includes "mouth movement" as a variable or admit this is just a middle manager trying something stupid.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago

That's what quotation marks are for. As it is written, it needs a tongue out smiley face 😜

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

But still, going from a "unbiased" pollster to a high-tech bookie is clearly a money grab. This article tells us very little, except "it's a close horse race!" That sounds exactly like what a bookie would say to get more money on the match.

His focus has changed. I wonder how Nate Silver himself would treat a formerly good pollster who recently started an online betting arm? I suspect he would downgrade their reliability due to conflict of interest.

[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)
 

From May 2024:

As he seeks a second term, Trump has promised to remain an unflinching supporter of the NRA and its agenda to unravel four years of Biden’s actions on guns. Biden’s campaign has branded Trump “the greatest defender of the Second Amendment to ever occupy the White House.”

Trump’s speech was short on specifics about what he would do to protect or expand gun rights in a second term, but he promised to “roll back every Biden attack on the Second Amendment.” He sought to remind the friendly crowd of his administration’s accomplishments while arguing that another four years of Biden’s leadership would result in more firearms and gun owners being targeted.

 

Old, but seems relevant today.

President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in decades, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington.

“God willing, it’s going to save a lot of lives,” Biden said at the White House as he finished signing the bill.

 

Another Republican turns away from donald trump. It's not clear what his response will be, as he has been generally absent from the public eye for weeks.

Who knows how long his campaign can last with Republican Senators speaking out against him? Maybe a heavily scrutinized press conference might be necessary, with his leadership skills (and mental capacity) in doubt.

 

President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry to two Union soldiers who stole a locomotive deep in Confederate territory during the Civil War and drove it north for 87 miles (140 kilometers) as they destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines.

 

The Biden administration is moving Ukraine ahead of other countries that were slated to receive air defense missiles, the latest move in its effort to rush urgently needed weapons to Kyiv.

The U.S. will “reprioritize” deliveries of Patriots and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems missiles planned for a select group of other countries so that the munitions coming off the production line will instead go to Ukraine, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, announced Thursday.

 

I had an idea that would allow people to buy their own homes that they are currently renting:

  1. Every home gets appraised to determine what it would sell for. This is done by the county and is used for property taxes too.
  2. Every renter is allowed to buy a percentage of their primary residence from the owner. The owner has no choice in this. It's a requirement for being able to rent a property. Edit: Since people are confused about this, the renter is not required to buy anything. They have an option to buy.
  3. Renters can pay as little as $100 extra per month and the county puts their percentage ownership on the deed. If the home is sold, the renter can't be kicked out involuntarily. If they do leave, they get the percentage of home value they own.

Pros:

  • This would avoid the issue of high interest rates hurting primary homeownership.
  • This would blunt the impact of corporate landlords having a monopoly where they refuse to sell. They are forced to sell at a fair price.
  • This would create a simple decision between owning their home and spending money on luxuries or eating out.

Cons:

  • This would hurt small landlords who would have their property bought out from under them. This is actually a good thing because the benefits of rising property values are now shared.
  • The implementation is hard. This is actually a good thing because bad landlords would sell property they didn't want to manage, lowering prices for renters who want to buy.
  • It would cost the county money to hire appraisers. But this could be paid for by increased property taxes due to better appraisals.
  • Property taxes would go up for landlords. But this would be good, as it encourages them to sell the property. This appraisal process and increased property taxes wouldn't affect people who just lived in their home without charging rent.
 

“Something snapped in this guy—for real—when he lost in 2020,” Biden said. “He can’t accept the fact that he lost, it’s literally driving him crazy.”

 

"First of all, he's actually not comfortable with going to jail. That is just bravado."

He said that he has "talked to Trump associates" who said Trump "doesn't want to serve time."

 

You can't cut any taxes or programs to fund your idea. Nothing else in your government is going to change. It can't be a tax that you avoid somehow. The money comes from you and similar people in your situation. Don't try to get around it in some way.

What would you pay more taxes to support?

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