gut

posted by Automatik

In-N-Out is incredibly overrated. 

Well, it's mainly CA so really just another case of perception vs. reality.

All chain burgers pretty much suck, but the "premium" options of Inn-n-Out, Smashburger, 5 Guys and Shake Shack, etc suck just a little bit less.

posted by CenterBHSFan

Also as far as foreign policy, remember just last year when the media shit their pants because when asked if he supported Ukraine against Russia he said that he wanted people to stop dying?

LOL, I remember.  And Trump isn't wrong, it's just another example of not filtering his words when it would have been better served to have.

Of course, we're talking about the "mastermind" behind the Art of the Deal.  Signaling that you'll stop supporting Ukraine to save lives means Putin just has to maintain a stalemate.  And that may be the inevitable reality.  Still, I'm not sure that statement leaves Trump in the strongest negotiating position.

Although, it's probably better than Biden's assured and forceful "don't".  Even worse than Obama's red line.

Binged Fallout (Prime Video) this weekend.  Easily in the top-5 post-apocalypse shows.  Like Westworld meets Walking Dead, only 10X better than either.

While I suggest you avoid any and all spoilers looking up reviews, I'll just say Walton Goggins KILLS everything he's in.  Definitely one of the best television actors in our lifetime.

Meanwhile, abortions hit a 10-yr high in 2023...

posted by like_that

If this election came down to foreign policy, Trump would win. Biden’s foreign policy has been nothing short of a disaster with Blinken. A liberal’s idea of foreign policy is whether or not Europe speaks favorably of the us or not. Meanwhile, the Biden admin wanted to brush off the Obama admin playbook of projecting weakness. 

I don't know if I agree with that.  Trump is an unpredictable loose cannon that seems to enjoy insulting our allies.  I think that's the real reason the "deep state" worked so hard to obstruct and impeach Trump.

I really think all the people Trump hired to be his advisors that think he's dangerous shouldn't be dismissed.  Remember, Trump hires the best people!

Between Russia, Palestine and Iran I'm honestly more than a little concerned about Trump making those decisions.  And even if you believe Trump is better than Biden on foreign policy, you still have to acknowledge that the inevitable resistance movement from the left is going to undermine his effectiveness, perhaps dangerously so.

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

I think grown men wearing baseball caps for anything other than playing baseball is sad looking.

Well, you're clearly blessed with a full head of hair.

Adults cheering and screaming wildly - at campaign rallies - are idiots.  It's tailgating for politards.  And yet it's somehow foundational to getting elected.

I have never been to a campaign rally, but maybe one day I'll take one in just to observe the spectacle.  I just don't know if I want to be surrounded by thousands of those people.

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

I would bet the average person in congress would score in the diagnosable range on a psychopathy test.  That’s the result of the fame and perceived power they get - a perfect job for a psychopath or at least sociopath.

Absolutely no question.  There is no way one can lie so frequently and comfortable, or get up on their soapbox and gaslight everyone, grandstanding in interviews and congressional hearings....unless you are a sociopath (and in the case of DC, probably bordering on psychopath for many).

I mean, if you just consider the "influence" and charisma typically needed to get elected to national office, you have to be a master manipulator and skilled in double-speak.  Look at AOC when she started vs. now - she's a polished bullshitter who is ready to shut you down with accusations of one of the -isms if you ask her too tough of a question.

Us commoners would have little hope of even raising $2M table stakes to campaign for the House.  The RNC and DNC have their hooks deep into state, even local in some cases, races.  There are exceptions, like AOC, but you pretty much have to know someone to make the right introductions to get your name out there and some momentum.  Good luck running as an independent with no name recognition - the local paper probably won't even bother to interview you.  Joe the Plumber has no chance of getting his name out there.

posted by Heretic

Seems to me that 2020 did a great job of illustrating that scientific issues can quickly become subjective issues when you have multiple scientific viewpoints on something, leading to people auto-gravitating towards whichever one mirrors their personal views on the matter.

Scientific "issues" are never subjective.  There may be competing theories and hypotheses, but "subjective" is a media-manufactured narrative where certain theories that support the agenda are promoted as "fact" and "consensus" while competing ideas are SUPPRESSED as "pseudo-science", "conspiracy theory" and "alternative facts".

And, yes, Covid provided numerous examples of all of the above.

Go back 20 years and straight news articles were generally separate from editorials, and were pretty balanced in discussing both sides of an argument's strengths and weaknesses.  What passes as straight news today are traditional editorials that skew and slant the facts, and bury counterpoints toward the end of the article.  And today's editorials are straight-up propaganda that resort to distortions and strawmen, if they even acknowledge counterpoints at all.

I'd be interested to know after how many weeks would someone consider losing a fetus via assault or car accident to be murder?

My guess is the vast majority of people would answer something less than 15 weeks.  Point being, I think even individual answers/feelings would change based on their life situation.  And to JMOG's point, I think we all know those answers would be different at different stages in life, very different.  And that's significant - your individual situation shouldn't determine whether or not that fetus is actually a life, nor should it change.

Cheated slightly re-using a letter on my 3rd guess, but it was a good one!

Wordle 1,023 4/6*

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good 3

Wordle 1,022 3/6*

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posted by iclfan2

Stewart didn’t do anything. The normal public doesn’t seem to understand the difference between market value and assessed value (for property taxes). Same thing with the Mara Lago property, assessed at like $18m, but worth far more (though questionable at the figures Trump valued it). 

Same would appear to apply to Leticia James.  The people trying to defend that fine/damages are wholly ignorant of how real estate works.  Trump did commit fraud, and his businesses should be sanctioned.  But no one lost any money.

Today's Connections was ridiculously dumb

https://www.nytimes.com/games/connections

posted by CenterBHSFan

Might be a problem finding a reliable lawyer that is willing to take up the case.

I'm sure one of Trump's lawyers would take the case.  But not sure what you do if you actually want to win your suit....

posted by Heretic

As a person who is not a legal expert, I have a question.

I think cashless bail has some merit, but it's mind-blowing to see how recklessly it's been implemented.  It SHOULD NOT apply to violent crimes, at least when a preponderance of evidence suggests that, yeah, you did the crime.

Secondly, it should never never never have been allowed for repeat offenders, regardless of the severity of infraction. 

Just an idiotic and heavy-handed attempt to remediate racial inequities in the justice system.  And to your point, I'm guessing the policies are indeed more nuanced, but they are not being followed or applied correctly.  And in that case, I think there very well could be a lawsuit against the city/DA.  Of course, you have the thorny and complex issue of "qualified immunity" to deal with, which I assume applies to prosecutors, as well.

posted by justincredible

Yes, punish them. Severely.

We need quid-pro-quo vigilante justice.

These victims should get the to have a champion, of their choosing, cold-cock these losers.  Mike Tyson would probably be happy to do it for $25 a pop.

Or turn it into a game show.  She gets to choose from 3 doors - one has Connor McGregor behind it, another has Sammy Sosa with a bat, and the third is an ill-tempered German Shepard.

posted by justincredible

On what planet is that not a felony?

If those guys had thought it through, they should have beat his ass knowing they'd be out on cashless bail with a misdemeanor.

Saw a blurb about how Beyonce may be starting a fashion trend with her new country style....And I wondered - isn't that cultural appropriation?

We've come a long, long way in 10 years from when country music was considered racist.

LOL, when I started traveling again my CC score dropped about 6%.  Recovered about 80% of that over several months, and then dropped back down again after I opened a new CC to get some free hotel points.

I wonder what it actually takes to achieve a perfect credit score?  Absolutely no debt, $100k in CC you never use, and an annual income over $500k?