Implanting Bill Gates's Micro-chips In Brains For Over 20 Years!

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

In regard to Tesla, the boycotts actually appear to be having some effect.

Well the bulk of Tesla owners were liberals weren't they? That makes for an easy boycott. All my Maga FB friends had been dogging electric cars for years.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Well the bulk of Tesla owners were liberals weren't they? That makes for an easy boycott. All my Maga FB friends had been dogging electric cars for years.

Musk has had a positive impact on electric car use in that regard. Trump fans are now buying electric to own the libs. And I suspect because that truck (which is actually a really comfortable and pretty sweet vehicle) comes in a "Beast" package which includes giant gnarly tires that make it look like something out of Mad Max.

Alternatively, one can view this as I do - further proof most humans are emotionally driven idiots comprised of equal parts pettiness and irrationality. Trump is a perfect pied piper for a perfectly imbecilic public.

And I don't merely mean the right, or the poors. The Big Dumb Cloud permeating everywhere in the country touches everything. If you doubt this, ask a "Resistance" person what they would do in lieu of DOGE to curb govt overexpansion and debt. Four out of five times they'll say "Tax billionaires." At which point, all one can do is exit the conversation.

[LessinSF]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

I was under the impression that the Trump Organization is not actually operating any hotels, and that various others are, so that one's experience at one such property would not necessarily correlate to that at another.

Which is separate from the question of whether one wants make that statement. I was in Chicago and when I saw the large Trump name on the property over the river, I felt a little ill. Though that could have been the norovirus at work.

I have a friend who will ask to change rooms in Vegas if his has a view of the TRUMP building.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by LessinSF

I have a friend who will ask to change rooms in Vegas if his has a view of the TRUMP building.

I have a friend who will stay at a Trump hotel and steal the towels!

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

It's not a difficult task to look at a list of grants and sift the necessary from the frivolous. Simply strip out everything with a political bent or trafficking in pseudoscience (like most anthropological and gender studies) and leave the hard science and medical research.

It would be a difficult task, because the question of what is necessary and what is frivolous does not have objective answer. Different people have different priorities, which is why Congress appropriates money for things that seem frivolous to some people.

What is frivolous is the idea that what DOGE is doing is constitutional. The Executive Branch is trying to grab the power to block spending approved by the Legislative Branch, a core enumerated power in the Constitution.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

We already have it, and they're volunteers - DOGE.

What makes you think they are volunteers? The DOGE staff are getting paid.

[It's not a difficult task to look at a list of grants and sift the necessary from the frivolous. Simply strip out everything with a political bent or trafficking in pseudoscience (like most anthropological and gender studies) and leave the hard science and medical research.

LOL

ETA: Also, this is not what they are doing.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

If you doubt this, ask a "Resistance" person what they would do in lieu of DOGE to curb govt overexpansion and debt.

They'd tell you 1) those things are not significant concerns (and even if they were, DOGE ain't going shit about it) and 2) to the extent they are, start at the Defense Department.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Adder

They'd tell you 1) those things are not significant concerns (and even if they were, DOGE ain't going shit about it) and 2) to the extent they are, start at the Defense Department.

I wish. As one who'd love to see the Pentagon budget cut in half, I'd join that resistance myself. But that never happens. And I rarely hear support for defense cuts from anyone. Seems Rand Paul is the sole voice on it.

Instead, we get dumb bromides from AOC followers about taxing billionaires to right the fiscal ship.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Adder

What makes you think they are volunteers? The DOGE staff are getting paid.



LOL

ETA: Also, this is not what they are doing.

Huh. Originally, Musk said it was long hours for pittance pay, basically volunteer work. How's DOGE being funded?

I know it's not what they're doing. It's what they should be doing.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop

It would be a difficult task, because the question of what is necessary and what is frivolous does not have objective answer. Different people have different priorities, which is why Congress appropriates money for things that seem frivolous to some people.

What is frivolous is the idea that what DOGE is doing is constitutional. The Executive Branch is trying to grab the power to block spending approved by the Legislative Branch, a core enumerated power in the Constitution.

DOGE strikes me as problematic and probably unlawful for a number of reasons. But I'm just assuming it continues for purposes of the conversation. If it does, it ought to act more judiciously and surgically. Yes, I fully realize that statement is naive as all fuck, as its probable real mandate is Bannon's "destruction of the administrative state."

As to your first point, there are objectively important things and frivolous things. Vaccine research (safe vaccine research) is an example of the urgently needed and important. Research into gender dysphoria is an example of a niche issue that is simply not important.

The anthropological seems to be the hotbed of a lot of frivolous funding. That department, along with history and political science, seem to be the fount of niche issues and dubious research. I'd also cut off funding for econ departments - another soft science. These areas aren't saving anyone from a deadly virus or bacteria or planning to avert consequences of climate change. They don't need or arguably deserve funding.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Research into gender dysphoria is an example of a niche issue that is simply not important.

It is strongly correlated with depression and suicide. You do not see any importance in preventing suicide?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I wish. As one who'd love to see the Pentagon budget cut in half, I'd join that resistance myself. But that never happens. And I rarely hear support for defense cuts from anyone. Seems Rand Paul is the sole voice on it.

Because voters like defense spending, and politicians are elected by voters. This is not a mystery.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Picking your hotel or car by politics is IMO silly. I think JB Pritzker is a buffoon presiding over a state which is the poster child for mismanagement. .

Illinois is indeed a financial mess, but it's certainly not JB's fault. The mess was firmly in place well before he was in the picture. I believe Illinois' financial situation has actually gotten better since JB was elected (moving from an F- to an F+).

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?

Illinois is indeed a financial mess, but it's certainly not JB's fault. The mess was firmly in place well before he was in the picture. I believe Illinois' financial situation has actually gotten better since JB was elected (moving from an F- to an F+).

I'm not blaming him for it, but in his situation, he has no business criticizing anyone. I understand giving a speech on how Trump's an awful bully is political catnip. And I think his comment that he is an actual billionaire as opposed to Trump was very funny.

But defending anything Illinois does is, well, indefensible. It's an economic disaster zone of epic proportions. Nobody in charge of anything in that state has any basis to lecture anyone in charge of anything elsewhere, Ever.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I'm not blaming him for it, but in his situation, he has no business criticizing anyone. I understand giving a speech on how Trump's an awful bully is political catnip. And I think his comment that he is an actual billionaire as opposed to Trump was very funny.

But defending anything Illinois does is, well, indefensible. It's an economic disaster zone of epic proportions. Nobody in charge of anything in that state has any basis to lecture anyone in charge of anything elsewhere, Ever.

I won't defend the past (because the pension issues are indeed a mess), but based on conversations I've had from people who have moved here from Georgia, Texas, and other lesser taxed states, you get a decent return on your (high) taxes here in the form of: great (suburban) public schools, great park districts and great forest preserves.

The people who have moved here said that they would have paid significantly more in their previous states because they would have needed to send their kids to expensive private schools to match the education they're getting here.

One of my good friends moved to Washington (state), and he said his local park district offers about 1/3 of the activities for kids as his old (my) suburb.

It's not perfect by any means, but I complain less about the taxes than i used to.