There’s certainly no need to tussle over it in California. Trump wouldn’t win in California anyway and it would just feed into the persecution narrative among his fan base.

This is the case I try to make to people on the left who complain about corporate white washing, or whatever they want to call it. Mainstream corporations feel like it’s advantageous to have their symbols out there in pride parades, environmentalist goals, anti-racism, and anti-sexism. Corporations are obligated at a certain level to follow the money, and they have read the signs and chosen to align themselves with these progressive causes. If nothing else, this is a good sign of where the country is headed.

It sounds like it was the bomber, Serhiy Batryn, that was reported as dead. Conflicting reports as to whether he has actually died. This was not related to Russia from what I could gather. He had a long standing feud with members of the local council.

Are you sure Judge Gen, Almighty Judge on High of All Beings Living and Dead for All Eternity, is not the more appropriate judge of this sort of thing?

What’s the relationship to the Burrito Supreme? Does it come with sour cream?

That’s how I see it. Israel really hasn’t seen any public consequences from the US, its closest allies, for how it treats the Palestinians. This is kind of a shot across the bow that there is more to come. The Biden administration has indicated that they are not pleased with the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza.

Haley and Christie are bad but survivable. I usually try to keep my claims measured, but Desantis and Ramaswamy are every bit as fascist as Trump. I would genuinely fear for the country under the last three.

In September, Christie looked directly into the camera and declared that if Trump keeps skipping debates, he would deserve a new nickname: “Donald Duck.”

I remember the Clinton campaign had something about “Donald Duck” because of his refusal to publish his tax returns. Maybe it was sending someone in a Donald Duck costume to his rallies? I don’t know, the joke always kinda fell flat. It made sense when you explained it, but then it’s not funny, is it?

Back when I was doing a weekly shopping trip on my bike with panniers, I tried self-checkout once when the cashiers were busy. Never again. The tall bags just screwed with the sensors too much. Now I’m maybe a bit more inclined to use it because I moved to a house just a quick walk to the store. It can make sense to just dump all of the items on the weighing platform and put them in my backpack and reusable bags later.

I get that, but I have had the opportunity to talk to several people from Israel. They’ve grown up surrounded by this conflict. Inflicting collective punishment on them doesn’t sit well with me. This is a more multi-dimensional situation than the apartheid of South Africa or the invasion by Russia. This is as much a string of failures of leadership in Israel and Palestine as anything else.

Definitely avoid companies that are profiting from activity in the West Bank, but not all of Israel. Israel includes many ethnic minorities that would be harmed all the same.

Especially anyone who believes that individuals are less free now than they were historically in the United States. Only the ignorant or biased make that claim.

I don’t see any problem with a system to detect drunk driving and bring the car to a stop. There is no right to drive a car while drunk or otherwise impaired. Inventing one by calling upon privacy also ignores that the cops can pull you over and give you a sobriety test if they have reason to anyway. In 2021, over 13,000 people in the US died from drunk drivers. They deserve protection.

It ain’t gonna slide down easy if it ain’t cheesy!

So much this. The Palestinian side has been more or less in stasis politically for what, a decade? Meanwhile Israel moves further and further to the right, constantly indulging their worst right flank including continued land theft. The Republicans in the US indulge Israel without question, while the Democrats question Israel without teeth.

Hamas and Netanyahu need to go as the baseline outcome of this debacle. I’m not sure how Hamas gets removed, or more importantly what takes its place.

The problem with doing that is that people then get more hesitant about putting money into a country. Would you invest in a country if there’s a good chance its leadership is just going to do an about face and tax your wealth into nothing? Take your possessions? It’s part of the reason why many countries struggle to get foreign investment. Their past has caused businesses to have little faith that investments won’t just get nationalized by the government.

Yeah, 200k and DINK. I want to have my taxes raised, just as long as others like me also have have their taxes raised.

That’s going to have to be part of it, but it can’t be all of it. There isn’t enough money in the upper class to take care of all of the debt, and at a certain level of taxation they will just move. I will speak in favor of increasing taxes on around pretty much every individual making over 100k or couple making over 200k. For a single person working 40 hours a week in the US, that is the 77th percentile. My husband and I are in this position and I think starting the additional tax burden with us would be fair.

I don’t see raising taxes much below us as being very productive, and those “flat tax” people can fuck right off. That group is already paying money into entitlements so the oft repeated statement that half of households pay no income tax is misleading. They’re really struggling right now, so I just don’t see an increase in taxes as productive.

I just said I think IDF violence against kids throwing rocks is unjustifiable. DID I STUTTER?

I wonder if this will still be true for Democrats when the shoe is on the other foot. They were held together by Pelosi’s skilled hand for twelve years. I think the fundamentals are strong for the Democrats. They care a lot about good governance principles. Ultimately, I think that will keep everyone on the same page. I don’t see any part of the party willing to rock the boat.

Where I am starting to get worried is with the national debt. The US, China, and many other governments are going to run into both debt issues and an aging population. That will force a reckoning at some point on entitlement spending, which is very popular.