But the thing about that kind of concentration of power is it’s not a matter of if that power will be abused, it’s only a matter of when.

I’m thinking it’s more about how much of the abuse you can tolerate. It’s not like the US has been all that hesitant to abuse our allies in the past. It’s more like our allies have previously been able to convince themselves that the benefits outweighed the costs.

Like the friend who’s an asshole, but he’s got a 120" TV and is happy to share his booze. When he gets drunk and makes an inappropriate joke, you might ignore it. You tell your wife that he’s not that bad and you owe him for all he did for you in college.

The US has reached the point of whipping it’s dick out and waving it around at everyone at the party. It’s time to leave.

Are the posts false?

I’m not going to suggest that they’d be better off with Maduro, but surely they could come up with someone better than Trump’s asshole licker.

I’ve been wondering how long it would take for the “lie to the pedophile and tell him we’re ready because he says we are” to get us to the same level of preparedness as Russia attacking Ukraine.

Orange Pedo-pirate

I certainly hope the rest of the world is paying attention this time.

The first defense is always run away if you can. If you can’t run away, give them what they want. If they seem intent on killing you regardless, then you might as well fight. Get some DNA under your nails to help the DA convict them after they find your body.

Personally, I’ve always just been monstrously large with a resting murder face. That tends to encourage people to take their violence elsewhere, but it’s the kind of trick most people can’t utilize.

If you think there’s a real concern, get some self-defense training. Learning how to fight at a good school could help your confidence and preparedness. However, I’ll point out that any good martial arts school will also tell you that rule one is run away if you can. There’s no defense better than not being there.

if you can’t get a fire gun for your self protection because laws you can opt for a pocket knife with rapid deploy system

Keep in mind that “rapid deploy” knives, AKA switchblades, may also be illegal. Check local laws.

I always carry a Leatherman wave. If I was attacked and needed a weapon to defend myself, I wouldn’t open a blade on it. I figure I’m as likely to be injured by that as I am to injure an attacker. If anything, I’d just hold it closed in my fist to do more damage with punches.

My wife and I will have a quiet dinner together at home. At some point we started having lobster tail for New Years, and it’s become kind of a tradition.

I don’t spend a lot of time dealing with churches. I certainly don’t believe in any of what they say anymore. However, I have gone to some weddings.

When my youngest cousin was getting married, we arrived at church and were greeting family that we hadn’t seen in years.

The priest yelled at us because we weren’t behaving in a way he felt was respectful (hugging, laughing, experiencing joy). I don’t know what he learned about Christ, but the Jesus I was taught about would have laughed in his face.

When my wife’s brother was getting married, the priest lectured the entire wedding party at the rehearsal about his belief that children shouldn’t be at weddings. As the parents of the ring bearer, my wife and I felt a bit attacked. However, I just assume he didn’t want to be too close to temptation.

Freeciv

They shouldn’t, but they can.

It’s a really bad idea for them to do so.

It seems so strange to me that you’re focused on straps and ignoring the heels. There’s nothing about either of those shoes that make any sense.

Yeah, it was a bullshit analogy.

Just like yours.

I thought that’s what we were doing.

Taiwan is a representative democracy now, not a dictatorship.

I think a slightly better analogy, if you’re serious, would be the relationship of the U.S. and Cuba (to make you feel better, I’ll go along with your propaganda and pretend that the U.S. is the only bad guy in the world).

So, China and Taiwan are like if the U.S. tried to control Cuba and failed, and then some other country from the other side of the world (just for example, let’s suggest it was Russia), stepped in to prop up and protect Cuba.

So, can you see how maybe what would be best for everyone is that the Cubans should get to decide on their own how they are governed? Much like the people of Taiwan, through their representative democracy, should be able to tell China to piss off already.

We do about $300/kid. We haven’t increased that over the years with inflation.

Kid’s are all grown up now. A couple years ago we started having everyone make Amazon wishlists. It was too difficult to figure out what everyone wanted. The wishlists make it easier for everyone. Also, we can put all our purchases on an Amazon store card and get 12 months interest free.

(I know. Amazon.)

Last year I also gave each kid a $300 Amazon gift card because everything sucks, and I didn’t want them to feel pressure for the holiday. I’ll do that again this year.

It probably seems crazy, but it works for us.

OH MY GOD!!!

When I was in college, a computer lab coworker asked me how long I had been dating my girlfriend.

I told her 6 years. She said, “Shit or get off the pot!”

That was the moment I decided to propose. We’ve been married for 33 years, together for 39.

When people ask about the proposal, I tell that story, and end with, “…so I decided to shit.”

Honda has a policy of not making political donations.

They don’t just placate MAGA. The Toyota PAC spends money to support MAGA candidates.

They spend on each, but generally more to Republicans.

https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/C00542365/summary/2024

Be careful. I think what you just said probably labels you as an antifa terrorist.