Talcosis

Institutionalization.

It’s like that one movie…pretty sure its Shawshank Redemption? There’s that one guy that gets out of jail and then commits suicide in a few months or so, because he can’t handle the real world after spending most of their life in jail.

I think work operates in a similar way…but the cruelty of the trap is that the things that make life worth living, i.e. hobbies, friends, a life outside of work, etc. kind of interferes with your ability to get that high level income you need for early retirement.

I think a lot of people that work even though they have the means to live comfortably for the rest of their lives are there because…work is their entire life. They have nothing outside of it. No purpose.

We talk about retirement as a question of resources: do we have the financial resources to live x years? What we don’t talk about is every other resource. Social, emotional, physical (in the does your body work sense) etc. Sure, you’ve got the house and the money…but your friends are all at work, and making new ones is pretty hard…even if you manage to make bank and retire in your mid 30s.

I thought letting pets starve to death was plan b for all cops?

Plan a is, of course, shooting them.

Does stock market count?

They might bitch and moan about their candidate, but election day they show up and they vote R like clockwork.

They’ll confirm it Jan 21 2027.

If they confirm it earlier, JD serves more than half a term making him ineligible for reelection

I guess there is a gender aspect as well. One of my dude friends casually mentioned they were poly when talking about relationships. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. Just “oh, cool”.

This girl I knew who I was a bit on the fence about invited me on a date and showed up with two other guys. I don’t have a problem with one night stands, but I have literally no interest in sharing. Then she got real mad when I didn’t try to hook up with her then and there. I didn’t even realize it was a poly thing until later that night, I thought she intended a platonic hang and I was the crazy one that thought it was a date.

Yup.

And then in my experience, I go. “Oh. Dang”

Depends on who you piss off

Sometimes I wonder if most “left wing” spaces exist for the sole purpose of ensuring the right dominates the world.

Then I remember there is little meaningful difference between a tankie and a fascist.

Investors don’t care about the companies they invest in, they care about return on investment.

If it destroys the company, they simply invest in another company.

I don’t think people perceived trump as moderate, people perceived him as “one of us”. That’s not the same thing (though interesting psychological research shows that most trump supporters probably desperately want to see themselves as average and moderate).

Mamdani was unapologetic, leading to support from the left, but he’s also charismatic. So he almost certainly captured the obama-trump vote by virtue of talking good and looking good.

I think the point is that they don’t exist in an ideological sense. They exist in the “ooo shiny” sense.

There is no point trying to attract them with policy or ideas, because they don’t give a fuck about that. They will vote for whoever makes them feel better when they talk.

I pray that Israel experiences the same hospitality they offer their neighbors.

I remember people talking about the Obama/Trump voter, or the Bernie/Trump voter like they’re this sage source of wisdom and balance.

No, they’re just someone who’s too stupid to understand the issues and responds to charisma.

Access to young men.

Seriously. It’s a community that is likely popular among people who care about fitness, which likely means young men and some women, and then he can sneak in conservative propaganda between actual calisthenics stuff to nudge people to the right.

Same reason they buy makeup influencers.

It turns off your muscles’ ability to relax and then you flex to death. Normally because you’re no longer breathing.

BRI is almost certainly economic colonization. Is that nicer than European colonialism? Yes. Will it have negative effects on African nations? We shall see…but I think it’s likely. It’s like that megaport China is building in Myanmar: it’s way more capacity than Myanmar needs. Maybe a debt trap, maybe a way to continue shipping through there in return for maintenance that Myanmar can’t afford. Maybe just a big Chinese billboard on the coast.

Yeah, but the general dumbing down of society is a complete fiction. In reality, someone born ten years after you should statistically have +3 IQ points.

Flynn effect.

China quietly beat the USA in 2018. That was the year that China became the global leader in scientific output. Everything is downstream of scientific and technological advancement.

Tbf Shadow Warrior is explicitly trying to be Blood with more dick jokes.