Let’s start by acknowledging that previous presidents have been able to mitigate the worst excesses of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in the past and that the slaughter we’re seeing right now is unprecedented and eclipses even the Nakba. Biden is a committed zionist and has willingly enabled this massive escalation of the genocide. Not only did he undemine Hillary Clinton’s negotionations with Israel during Obama’s administration, he has now sent two carrier groups to reinforce the IDF. A president with any spine or moral compass on the issue would have negotiated, and failing that, followed through on an escalating list of consequences similar to those imposed on apartheid-era South Africa. The US stands alone as the only major power in several organizations like the UN, G7, and NATO to ardently support Israel’s genocide. That could end, but Biden would never do that.

The gap

I don’t think the two of you actually disagree, I think you’re just using the term ‘life’ differently. You’re making the point that there are parts of life that are manmade and subject to change, like the economy which can and should be changed to help people. Meanwhile they used the phrase ‘life isn’t fair’ in what they’re saying is a descriptive rather than a prescriptive sense. They don’t think of it as a thought terminating cliche and they don’t oppose reform, they just see it as an accurate and realistic outlook for the time being.

On a surface level, yes, tribalism is easy to fall into and it’s important to examine your biases and reflect on your beliefs. Having done that though, it becomes clear that the Republicans are in fact stupid and ridiculous. It’s easy to see that their talking points are the results of ignorance and fascist propaganda and not much else. There are underlying reasons for that of course, fascist propaganda heightens feelings of fear, anger, and resentment, and appeals to people who feel aggrieved, especially about the loss of stability, privilege, or an imagined better past. We can’t do away with standards and values. We can’t allow our minds to so open that out brains fall out. Republicans do measurably, objectively far more harm.

Maybe Satan did the math and saw that having warehouses full of low grade condoms would actually result in lower pregnancy and std rates than if he had opted for fewer, more expensive condoms. After all, a barrier is a barrier and quantity is a quality unto itself.

Best I can do is ergotism

The Oval, according to architectural digest

Seriously!? You enjoyed surfing the web? Accessing the information superhighway, a completely novel and unprecedented advance in our ability to explore what is effectively the database of all human knowledge? Statements like this reinforce my incredibly niche but deeply held prejudice against “people” like you.

unnecessary antagonism aside, people have fun learning and satisfying their curiosity, and it’s more rewarding when there’s less bloat to slog through

I think there’s a categorical difference between pop and indie music and you’re right about the increased centralization of pop music, however the increased ease of music production and distribution has also lead to a greater proliferation of indie music at the same time

Generally pretty damn expensive, as with pretty much everything related to boats

Kitchen Nightmares (US)

I’ve only watched a few episodes, but it seems like he’s kind to the wait staff and cooks generally, and reserves most of his venom for owners and managers

It’s probably not what his father wanted

As far as I can tell, mostly just fantasy tropes and the poem by Percy Shelley, a personal favorite

I met a traveller from an antique land, Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed; And on the pedestal, these words appear: My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Mental health is not a binary state, you can have bad periods in an otherwise stable life. You’ve made a thousand posts in a month. I’m being completely genuine, I think you need to evaluate whether this is healthy for you.

I think you need to log off for your mental health

It really isn’t any of that, they’re just humorously pointing out confirmation bias which is definitely an issue in discussions like these

I get the sense that they’re attracted to (some) trans women and uncomfortable about it and what they think it means about their sexuality.