It makes perfect sense once you realize that their media literacy is through the basement. Regular literacy too, I’d wager. 54% of adults (in America) read below the sixth-grade level. Source.

Ah, I misinterpreted your phrasing. “We have to stop reporting on Trump lies like they’re shocking” sounded like “nobody is shocked by his lies, so there’s no point in bothering to report on it.” You meant “stop feigning surprise in your reporting of his lies.” I fully agree with you.

I disagree. When we stop pointing out the lies that the lying liar tells, we are complicit in him getting away with the lies. A shitload of people aren’t really paying much attention. Those people might believe his lies if they’re not seeing anybody pointing out that what he’s saying is a lie.

Honestly, I’d rather see it pointed out even more what a fucking liar he is. I want the media to stop saying “falsely states” and other bullshit soft language, and then let it go to fucking trial and beat him if he tries to sue for slander/libel. It’s a fucking disgrace that they’re not only choosing to not do this, but they’re settling when he claims that they’re factual reporting on him is defamation or election interference. But honestly, at this point, I won’t be satisfied until he’s in a stockade and getting pelted by overpriced eggs.

Eggs.

Eggs.

Eggs.

Guess they’re just smarter than you

Perfect. I said something similar the last time this sort of rhetoric came out of a coworker’s mouth. Literally what I said about begging on the streets and making 6 figures was what he said. I said “that’s not happening, at least not for more than maybe up to 5 people, and if you don’t believe me then why don’t you just do that instead of working harder and making less?” The response was some bullshit about not wanting to be a drain on society and how he would feel bad taking money he didn’t earn. And yet his goal is to buy a few houses and rent them out so his housing is paid for by other people. Pointing out the irony to him would be a waste of breath.

My mom hasn’t worked in a decade. Survives off of snap and my dad’s SSDI survivor benefits. She STILL buys the whole welfare queen narrative.

Of course she does. She is said welfare queen. I’m sure she’d try to explain how it’s not the same thing, but the reality is that she believes that she’s earned (there’s that word again) what she’s receiving, implying that others haven’t. I would have trouble maintaining a close relationship with somebody who holds these beliefs.

Thankfully, nobody ever becomes homeless due to losing their job and struggling to find a new one. Robust social safety nets have ensured that the only people who find themselves homeless are lazy pieces of shit who are actively trying to be in their situation. They prey upon people’s generosity by begging in the streets and raking in 6 figures.

Big fat fucking /s because holy shit, I’ve actually encountered people who believe bullshit like that. I lived in my car for a little while, but thankfully I still had a job and there was a shower I could use at work. Only an absolute fucking ghoul would prey upon the unhoused.

Easy. By intentionally bankrupting it through a Russian money laundering scheme and passing the debts on to your investors. And it’s easy to get investors for a casino because the only way a casino doesn’t make money is if you intentionally bankrupt it. QED.

That makes them smart.

– victims of these conmen tricked into supporting them because they believe that they’ll benefit from the conmen getting power.

Ahead of its time, predicting the consequences of tariffs like that.

And they’re terrified of all the childless cat ladies opting to not produce their next generation of laborer/consumer brood to be said replacement. Hence the crackdown on abortions and contraception and people who pair up in ways that cannot yield children. You can’t have the infinite growth that capitalism demands if the number of producers and consumers goes down.

Combined cycle natural gas plant operator in the US here. Bridging the gap between low demand and high demand times is a big part of why it’s so challenging to try to reduce fossil fuel power solutions. The grid is basically a pressurized pipeline, and it’s only reliable if that pressure is maintained no matter how many “faucets” get opened or closed. Green energy solutions aren’t really able to raise that “pressure” unless we build significantly more than we need and keep a bunch of them off most of the time until peak conditions demand them. Nuclear is extremely slow (relatively speaking) to (safely) alter output to meet demand, so its best usecase is for baseloading as much as possible. But with a natural gas plant, I can put my foot on the gas pedal, figuratively speaking. It’s fucking terrible for the environment, but that’s the cost of everybody insisting on consuming so much goddamn electricity all the time. If you don’t like it, stop supporting power hogs like data centers by using AI bullshit and cloud storage and web hosting and media streaming.

This is a complicated problem, and complicated problems almost never have simple solutions. I wish we could minimize the problem of what happens when 100M+ EVs get plugged in at 7pm on a Tuesday by already having put together a strong public transportation infrastructure that people feel comfortable and safe using, but the time to start doing that was probably during the gas shortage in the 70s when we saw how overly reliant we were on cars. It’s probably not too late to start, but it’s gonna be a challenging transition now no matter what we do.

“No. Fuck you. Pay me. Now pay me more. Now enjoy ads. Pay me again. We’re now introducing fees associated with the privilege of paying me. So pay that while paying me.”

– approximately everything

What’s the best alternative software to gear up to transition to? I’m pretty pissed because they finally got decent integration for PS5. I was playing Space Marines with a couple friends, one of whom is playing on PC, so we’ve been able to crossplay with voice chat.

Drown me, sky daddy.

I don’t know that I’d call it a song per se, but Brand New did this on The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. I think it was like a minute of stuff that seamlessly blends right into the start of Sowing Season. I don’t own the CD and I only heard that part once like 15 years ago, so I truly can’t remember what it was. Maybe like a message on an answering machine?

Edit: found it

He looks like he smells like one too.

This, starlink regarding Russia invading Ukraine, and I’m gonna guess spacex regarding government contracts? Idk about that 3rd one being investigated but it’s definitely one of the many conflicts of interest.

Yeah but stupid people are plentiful and overly confident that they can spitball a better idea for solving the problem than literal experts with decades of expertise can because “they’re too close to the problem” or “they’re paid off by big [fill in the blank] to gum up any progress” or whatever. They just don’t believe in complicated solutions or complicated problems because most people aren’t doing anything particularly complicated with their lives. Incurious people aren’t interested in any explanations or nuance.

You get to know regulars. Sometimes teachers sit in and grade. When it’s slower, you can make small talk. I’m not sure if it’s a thing with Starbucks but I know a lot of places offer teacher discounts if they show school ID, so maybe that’s another avenue for it.

My best friend and a few other friends used to be teachers but they all quit because it’s such a shitty, thankless job. Just like with nurses, the fact that they care so much gets exploited by way of paying much less and demanding more hours out of them.

My spouse is a Starbucks barista. “You are special” goes on 90% of the cups she hands out. She puts actual effort into it for the people who are underappreciated workers like nurses and teachers.