Cool. Can we also get moving on Ranked Choice Voting?

I still find the whole bottled water thing odd. I remember a time when there was just Poland Spring and Deer Park and you only bought a bottle of water if you were absolutely dying. From my vantage point, it seems like consumerism, across the board, has skyrocketed in the past 20 years.

I was just having conversation with a fellow Gen Xer about how people just don't know how or don't care to do things for themselves anymore. As I look at all the subscriptions and consumer goods and delivery services that make headlines, it seems like we, as a culture, are spending a lot more money on what used to be called luxury expenses.

Some people legitimately have bad municipal water. They need to put pressure on their civic leaders to fix their gross negligence. For most other people, I would really recommend a filter system you can install either at the source of your water, under your kitchen sink, or in a pitcher in your fridge.

It's worth noting that even the aluminum water bottles (Stanley, etc.) come with some health concerns. If you're getting something from China, I've heard their manufacturing and raw material quality control isn't up to US standards. Regardless, most if not all aluminum water bottles have a plastic liner. Your best bet is glass. If you have an aluminum bottle, don't use it for hot liquids and try to keep it out of the sunlight for too long.

Although they're a bit better than plastic bottles, all aluminum cans require a plastic inner liner.

https://www.plasticstoday.com/business/liquid-death-may-murder-your-thirst-but-it-won-t-kill-plastic-no-matter-what-the-ads-say

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W05yBVq18cY

First I'm hearing of this. I'll look into it.

Quote: "now a dozen eggs will cost you around four dollars thanks to Kamala Harris' inflationary policies".
Checks source: Average cost $4.10.

Edit: I’ve updated this post to reflect the point of it being posted in News.

The problem? When footage of the visit emerged, Vance was quickly called out by viewers who spotted the price tag of a dozen eggs behind him was actually $2.99.

– Vance is being called out for saying eggs cost around $4 while standing in front of eggs that costs $3 when in fact the average cost for eggs he is standing in front of is $4.10.

I hate that this is the bullshit we spend our time arguing over.

This story is absolutely trash. Here's a link to the video I presume this trash article is referring to https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1837581418329002260 You can see, like every grocery store I've ever been to, a number of different prices for eggs, including at least three for $4.99 and one for $3.99.

EDIT: Here's the photo op since some people prefer to comment on headlines rather than source material.
The average price of visible price tags is $4.10. Though I still argue that the literal price tag on these eggs is far from the relevant point of his words. Arguing over the average value in the background of an image is wholly irrelevant to a politician making claims about policy.

The take away from this video shouldn't be hurdur the tag says $2.99 but the discussion of his claim about "Kamala Harris' inflationary policies" and "because she cast a deciding vote on the Inflation Explosion Act". At least, that's what a reputably news organization would give a shit about discussing.

This article from PBS quotes Alex Arnon, an economic and budget analyst for the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model, “We can say with pretty strong confidence that it was mostly other factors that have brought inflation down,’’ he said. “The IRA has just not been a significant factor.’’

This bit from Wiki says "the benefits of the Act will likely not be felt before the 2024 election, but that the Act is a great long-term strategy to decouple from volatile energy markets that drive inflation and that the Act will reduce inflation over the medium to long-term."

The Inflation Reduction Act actually had very little to do with inflation or the price of eggs. The price of eggs has been mostly dictated by disease and the need to slaughter millions of birds.

Moreover, I understand the (under/misinformed) complaint people have about rising egg prices as it pertains to kitchen table economics. However, from the perspective of what we're putting into our bodies and paying people a fair wage to do honest work, we should be complaining that eggs are too cheap.

Of all things, it continues to shock me how inexpensive eggs are. I've been paying $5-$7 for a dozen eggs from local producers for about ten years. They're noticeably more delicious, it's less impactful to the environment, the chickens are far less prone to disease, I assume the chickens are healthier and have a better diet, my dollars go towards a local economy not some billion dollar corporation on the other side of the country.

Depends on what "recent" memory is for you. I've got Reagan and Trump neck-and-neck. While Bush should be tried for war crimes, he's nowhere close to as bad as Trump. I'd put Bush and Clinton in the cage match.

I would like to see more investment in informative media. Social media has been one of the best sources to get information about local events, news, and alerts.

Speaking from an American’s perspective, I would like to see federated networks organized similarly to the United States. There should be one main federal instance, then a sub instance for states, eventually down to micro instances for neighborhoods or zip codes.

My complaint about “corporate social media” has been its need to make money from advertising driven by engagement. This means I miss tons of posted information by family, friends, businesses, bands, restaurants, record shops, farmers markets, city council members, police departments, reporters, etc.

I still want to connect with these users but getting them on board with the fediverse is an uphill battle if they’re only in it for the memes. Creating a platform that makes some tangible sense to people, I think, would drive more adoption. If you want to connect with your city, join cityname.state.US.verse. This wouldn’t exclude the creation of other networks like I dunno… nestle.corp.verse or tiktok.social.verse.

Strong agree. I think most people just go for the low hanging fruit because they don't actually care enough to be invested in policy. The vast majority of "news" is just trash to generate clicks and engagement and we all suck it up like calorie-free frappaccinos.

I posted earlier in response to his full comment regarding the "inflation explosion act". This is something worth reading about - that the Inflation Reduction Act has not had any immediate impact on inflation to date (up or down). Others here have accurately commented about the disease spreading across poultry farms which has most impacted the costs of eggs in particular.

It's also worth pointing out that bird flu is increasingly having an impact on cattle. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/09/bird-flu-is-spreading-rapidly-in-california-infected-herds-double-over-weekend/ So, expect dairy prices to slowly and steadily increase.

Now a dozen eggs will cost you around $4.

Right there.

So, now you want to ignore the signs behind him and use statistics for the country?

Just stop. You are not contributing to any valuable discourse.

I fail to see how that is relevant at all. He could be holding a steak or a roll of paper towels standing in front of bananas or at a car dealership and speak about the cost of a dozen eggs.

What is relevant is his claim that "Harris' inflationary policies" had an impact on the price of items at grocery stores. This is untrue.

I think I get it. The internet wants to call out every detail in an image as if they're true crime detectives. They want to be more right than everyone else. But only based on the most simple piece of content possible. If it requires reading a few paragraphs, or finding your own source material that a news outlet fails to provide, or using a middle school degree of reading / listening comprehension that's too much work. I did that here, and hate that it needed to be done, to back up my previous comments elsewhere in this thread.

You're twisting the reality you've already twisted to continue to fit your narrative. I will not follow you down that rabbit hole.

If you'd like to discuss the real story, the "inflation explosion act" and even the lack of policy proposals by the Trump campaign (to my knowledge) to reduce the costs of goods, I'd be happy to do so.

Evidence has been presented to you which you are ignoring for the sake of your own narrative. You are so obsessed with your political agenda that you can not admit that your "opponent" might be right for once. The average price of the eggs he is standing in front of is $4.10. Vances' statement about the price of eggs is 100% accurate.

Regardless, the story is not about the price of eggs. The story is about a political candidate making remarks about policy which may or may not have impacted the price of eggs and other consumer goods. These specific remarks are a mixed bag as the price of eggs are impacted more by disease and the price of other goods were not impacted by the Inflation Reduction Act.

I don't understand how people are so blinded by their politics that they twist reality to turn the truth into fiction. You are disseminating "fake news" and deepening the divide between us.

This is exactly what's wrong with us. When one side makes a claim that the other side sees very clearly to be false then we attack each other over something (a meme) that's whole irrelevant to our lives. We should be discussing inflation. Because clearly, not enough people have a clue about how it works. We should be discussing this candidates claim that an Act of Congress caused the price of consumer goods to increase. Is that true or is it not? What is it that this administration has actually done?

This is what should guide us at the polls and in our political discourse, not if a quick glance at the price of eggs in one store in one part of one state is accurate to the dollar or not.

How did you get to that part while ignoring the preceding sentence?

Here’s a link to the video I presume this trash article is referring to https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1837581418329002260 You can see, like every grocery store I’ve ever been to, a number of different prices for eggs, including at least three for $4.99 and one for $3.99.

Every store has eggs tagged at different prices depending on what kind they are. If you look quickly and see more signs that start with $4 than $2, would you say eggs are $2.99 or "around $4"?

I'm really amazed at the ignorance, be it willful or not, all Americans are capable of.

I mean... all you had to do was look.

Did you and your doctor not have this conversation!?

Or are you more inclined to listen to the internet over the person who's job it is to pull all your teeth out of your head?

Answer: Oxy.

Punk band upsets establishment. News at 11.

Trump unveiled the realities of the wasted money and resources the Trump team now has to deal with. "Now we have to start all over again. Shouldn't the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe"

Can we all please take a moment to seriously reflect on this?

Irrespective of party, campaigning should not primarily be about attacking your rival. It should be about what you intend to do and what you have done to benefit your constituents. Your policies and successful legislation should be what you spend your money on promoting. It should be about the vision you have for this country outside the context of who comes before or after you in office.

This is, in part, why so many people are resentful of elections - they're 100% full of negativity. Give us some hope. Give us some tangible examples of what's been accomplished. Keep the name of your opposition out of your speeches. Reflect on existing policy you want to change, why you feel it needs to change, and how you intend on changing it. Give us some vision of the future for us to unite around and get excited for.

MOTHERFUCKER - JOURNALISM IS THE FOURTH PILLAR OF DEMOCRACY. ITS YOUR LITERAL ONE JOB - TO DEFEND IT.

It’s our job to cover the full range of issues that people have. At the moment, democracy is one of them. But it’s not the top one — immigration happens to be the top [of polls], and the economy and inflation is the second.

Ah, that’s your problem right there. And this is going to be the major issue for generations to come. The algorithms are determining what’s popular and will generate content to maintain engagement. What used to happen is news rooms would find important stories and report on them then the people would read those stories to determine what actually matters in their lives.

I subscribe to my local paper. The mobile app is essentially ‘what the people want’. Meanwhile, the newspaper itself (print or digital) has almost entirely different content and it’s certainly organized differently. When I want to learn about things in my community and the world - the reason I subscribe to a newspaper in the first place - I read the paper, not the app. The app is just like a blog.

It’s incredibly frustrating how far our fourth pillar of democracy has fallen.

I can't get over how this "limited government" party has gone from supporting parental rights and promoting family values to becoming fascists.

To be clear, there's a ton of good to be said about preventing kids from using social media. Still, this should be up to the parents and, imo, all parents should limit or restrict it.

Isn't this same as the cigarette and alcohol ban for minors, I hear you ask? No. Alcohol and cigarettes can be purchased from a shop. The government isn't explicitly telling parents the kids can't consume them, it's banning the sale to minors. Social media and cell phones aren't really something a 14 year old can get at a store or happen upon at a party. So, if smoking was legal and the parent restricted their 14 year old from smoking, it wouldn't be too difficult for the kid to get a pack of their own. Social media is different. And shouldn't involve government restrictions. Because, how the F is the government going to oversee and reprimand this?

“Waller County does not tolerate domestic violence. Heinous crimes like this one will not go unanswered, we will seek justice for the victims of domestic violence and send a message to the perpetrators that here, we fight for our victims,” [Waller County District Attorney] Whitmore said in a statement.

[Sheriff] Guidry said in his press conference that deputies had been called to the couple's residence for reports of domestic violence on more than one occasion before Diaz's death.

Seems to me like the county isn’t on the same page with how they deal with domestic violence. I’d say a beheading is far worse than a gun shot but if this were a gun crime, I feel like there’d be more outrage with lack of gun restrictions. Maybe if states took domestic violence more seriously we could avoid some instances of murder regardless of the weapon.

These comments are out of control. To be fair though, this AP article is garbage.

The likelihood of this having anything to do with the victim being a queer journalist in Philadelphia is practically zero. Here's some excerpts from the local paper.

Detectives believe Kruger’s death may have been the result of a domestic dispute or may have been drug-related, according to three law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case. The sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said police investigators recovered troubling text messages between Kruger and a former partner. Investigators also recovered methamphetamine inside Kruger’s bedroom, the sources said.

In recent months, he’d written on social media about a variety of alarming incidents at his home.

In April, he posted that an ex-partner had broken into his home. “The door was locked, so he had somehow obtained a copy of my keys,” he wrote. He had allowed the man, whom he’d known for years “before his troubles,” to stay at his house briefly after being released from jail. He said he was able to deescalate the situation and the man eventually left, and he changed his locks.

In August, someone threw a rock through his home window, he said. Then, about two weeks ago, he wrote on Facebook that someone came to his house searching for their boyfriend — “a man I’ve never met once in my entire life.” The person called themselves “Lady Diabla, the She-Devil of the Streets” and threatened him, he wrote.

https://www.inquirer.com/crime/josh-kruger-killed-point-breeze-shooting-philadelphia-journalist-20231002.html

“Alright folks, now just to note, Newsmax has accepted the election results as legal and final,”

Not exactly exuding fair and unbiased journalism there, "NewsMax". You accept the results of an election? Your job is not to accept anything, it's to report on it.

This is like, I accept that mommy's not going to buy me a Ninja Turtle toy today but I'm still going to be a little brat and pout about it and make her life suck for the rest of the day.

He faces probation or up to four years in prison.

It's been reported that only 10% of felons are given jail time for similar convictions. You have to wonder if such remarks after his conviction, indicating he's learned absolutely nothing, may lead a judge towards the harsher punishment.

Also, let's take a moment to applaud Alvin L. Bragg.

Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, risked his reputation by indicting Mr. Trump in a case that some prominent Democrats said wasn’t strong enough to have brought against a former president. Instead, Mr. Bragg cemented his place in history as the first prosecutor to convict a former president.

As much as I would love for this to happen, this writer is fabricating what Trump said.

Most of the context is left out but the clips starts with how crime rates around the world are dropping. He's saying it would be far safer to meet in Venezuela because the US would be a horror show if Kamala wins the election.

In this short clip, he's commenting about crime in the US compared to Venezuela.

Nothing about him "fleeing the country" because he loses the election.

Edit:
We have a former president verifiably lying practically every time he opens his mouth while his followers continue to trust him over all else. Meanwhile, we have the vast majority of the public accepting misleading click/rage-bait headlines as facts because it makes them feel a certain way. In both accounts, false or misleading information is spread within the group to enforce an idea not based in reality.
It's the pot calling the kettle black.
Trump is a brand. He profits by keeping people engaged - exactly as today's media does. Please, dear world, read more than a headline before you promote content. Always question the validity of a story even when, especially when, it seems too good to be true.

Major sporting events are a popular time for men to schedule a vasectomy because they're advised to take it easy for two to three days after the procedure. For most men, this means sitting on the couch in front of their television, and sporting events offer them something to watch while resting.
https://www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/why-more-men-get-vasectomies-during-march-madness

If you’re continually having issues passing a written exam, I would respectfully request that you just stop now. These “laws and rules and stuff”, generally, are not complicated and are far from stupid. This is the bare minimum you should know in order to operate a motor vehicle safely in the presence of other vehicles and children. If you’re unable to grasp the seriousness of this, how it can literally impact your very existence, you may not be responsible enough to operate a vehicle. Granted, probably half the people on the road shouldn’t be on the road either.

Love admitted to being involved in the attack and said he had become acquainted with the victim beforehand.

"The defendant added he was possibly drugged and someone inserted an unknown object in his rectum," the report says. "Although the defendant is not certain the victim is responsible for this, the defendant made a statement indicating he needed to hurt whoever hurt him and was prompted to purchase the knife at a Target store near Miami International Airport."

Appears not to be a random hate crime.

Who comes up with these headlines?? Certainly not someone who based it off the video used to support their claim.

This bullshit dilutes real news stories. Headline should read; "IDF bombs refugee camp in attempt to kill Hamas terrorist, knowing it was full of civilians." That's the story and it's fucked alone as it is. Why sensationalize this and make up shit that is objectively untrue??

Internet's gonna internet.

Man, that's just wacky to see those bands in one sentence in reference to rocking and being silly. You're not wrong.

One of my favorites - Frank Zappa's Apostrophe / Overnight Sensation.

Bloodhound Gang, Blink 182, Sum 41, Sublime, Men Without Hats, They Might Be Giants, Tenacious D, Ugly Kid Joe, Green Jelly / Jello, The Dead Milkmen, Dee Lite, Squeeze.

He’s a compulsive liar who’s angry at things he’s fabricated for his own benefit. How the fuck is he even being considered for the job?

And yet a senile knocking on death’s door old man is still the objectively better option than Donald Trump. I just can’t understand how people have forgotten who this guy is and what he did to screw every American for his own ego and interests.

This debate (which I didn’t watch) was a spectacle. We all know both of these farts are not fair presidential candidates for Americans. It’s disgusting and gut wrenching.

If you’re undecided, all you need to do is bypass your social media feed and biased news sources and search for Trump presidential accomplishments | Biden presidential accomplishment. You can also check Politifact to observe their lies (here’s the result from the debate) and presidential promises kept and broken - Trump | Biden.

The problem is the vast majority of people don’t care or aren’t aware of actual policy and legislation that happens in DC. They go by a vibe. And they go by who’s the best orator (see: Obama). And, yeah, Biden did not pass the vibe check last night. But he’s still that guy you work with whom you hate to be around because he’s awkward and smells bad but he’s not firable because he’s a decent keeps-to-himself dude and gets shit done better than most and your company is better with him than without him.

So… the same party that wants to stop same sex couples from having sex is upset that the government is telling them whom they can’t have sex with? Golly.

The first problem is that one group is talking about one thing and another group is talking about another thing but they both call it the same thing.

Then when the normal American who believes we're in a recession is told we're not in a recession, they look at their bank accounts and resent being told they don't know what they're talking about. Resentment breeds a defensive stance and isolationism.

So many people are told they don't know what they're talking about these days. Meanwhile, fringe organizations (or what used to be fringe) are happy to comfort those who've been told they're idiots.

This isn't a political aisle or philosophical issue. This is about general intelligence. This is about taking your face out of your screen and looking up and around your environment - or, seeing the forrest for the trees. You may not give a crap about anything other than your wallet but a veiled perspective is going to warp your reality.

There's a lot to criticize in politics / everything today. It would be nice if people were using facts to inform their criticism. It would be nice if people weren't getting their facts from social media and what amounts to today's version of the check out aisle tabloids.

You mean like how Panera Bread does?
https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:eco,dpr_2.0/rockcms/2023-10/231017-panera-bread-charged-lemonade-al-1019-f1a04a.jpg

The Charged Lemonade was “offered side-by-side with all of Panera’s non-caffeinated and/or less caffeinated drinks” and was advertised as a “plant-based and clean” beverage that contained as much caffeine as the restaurant’s dark roast coffee, according to photos of both the menu and beverage dispensers in the store, which were included in the wrongful death lawsuit. https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/app/product/57f9b1aa54df4bd2c2eacca55efa1c96.html

Not to disagree with you, you're right, but I think they should also indicate how much is normal consumption. It's quite surprising this isn't something that's required on the nutritional label.

I'm 5'6" and find the term childish and insulting. It's not the short part, it's the king part. I am not a king, I'm a regular guy working a regular job.

"Body positivity" is garbage. People should be honest and support healthy lifestyles. Twisting reality to make someone comfortable is detrimental to their physical and mental health.

I don't understand the reasoning but, across the board, it seems today's culture is very quick to accept literal delusions in place of reality for the sake of feelings and "mental well being".

The sad and frustrating part of this is that he has plenty of cult followers who would gladly set up a GoFundMe for their "billionaire" "king".

But he did say he’d go to Venezuela if he loses.

He did not.

As I explained earlier today, he was commenting about crime decreasing around the world and, if Kamala were elected, it would be safer to meet the person he was speaking with in Venezuela than in the United States.

The actual interesting bit in this story is all the mounting evidence that Carlson himself is very likely closeted.

...when he sang out, “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda” during his performance. The original line is, “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda.”

So you were all okay with "redneck"? Are the rednecks offended by being associated with MAGA? What would be the reaction if some country singer sang "I'm not part of the woke agenda"?

Ugh. Ya know... the reality is that news outlets, Rolling Stone in this case, need to generate attention just as much as the outraged Trump supporters. I have to wonder if us normies are suckers. Why do we fall prey to the need to comment on something so irrelevant?

Edit: So, I just listened to and read the lyrics for American Idiot (it’s been a while and I wasn’t ever all that into Green Day). I hadn’t realized how on-point my comment was. It’s literally about the media manipulating us. Man, what a great song and meta article.

Don't wanna be an American idiot
Don't want a nation under the new media
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind-fuck America

Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alienation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay
In television dreams of tomorrow
We're not the ones who're meant to follow
For that's enough to argue

Well, maybe I'm the removed, America
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda
Now everybody, do the propaganda
And sing along to the age of paranoia