useless eater asking the most clueless questions about 21st century life. @jackspirko sent me
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2024-01-09T00:01:52+01:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum legalman's declaration that in the past "humans learned how to figure stuff out" without any formal education at all is not only true but extremely important. we do need to learn to read and write, including cursive, and basic arithmetic. the three "r"'s. virtually any adult, especially parents, should be able to teach these to children. kids are naturally curious - they will accept learning at least the basics npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum i voted for Kodos. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum buuuuuuuuttt...ya gotta admit that watching Killary sitting front and center at the inauguration while an idiot fake PoC absconds with her birthright to be the "first female president of the USA" would be pretty satisfying. One last laugh before the doom falls. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Name one of the Ten Commandments that hasn't been broken by government. Win big prizes! npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Yay for the use of "intents and purposes" correctly! If I see "intensive purposes" ever again, it will be too soon. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The Natural Law was cited in the US Declaration of Independence - "all men are created equal". That by definition means that any form of involuntary hierarchy defies human rights. Some claim that government is "with the consent of the governed", but I don't recall seeing any consent forms in any country, especially the USA. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum My confusion is the constant exhortation to "stack sats" and "hodl", but also the constant exhortation to zap all your sats to someone else. Which is it? I zap away every zap I get, but I'm not going into my wallet again and again just to prove a point. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The Most Dangerous Superstition indeed. Jesus said it best: "rend unto Caesar"...let those who claim to rule over men think whatever they wish. But remember that the only true ruler is God and that "all men are created equal", regardless of what some may think. There's no need for violence. Just let them play in their little sandbox and place one's own attention on the self-evident truths that led us to freedfom in the first place. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum True! I was alluding to Biden's "come on man" speech when he mentioned that "we have all the guns, F-15's..." et cetera. Every time I hear anyone use the word 'we", the first thing that comes into my mind is "who's "we"?" npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The easiest path to ending the state is to simply stop working in the interest of the state. If the payroll processsors leave, even the Pentagon and CIA are powerless. The have all the guns, but who is going to fire them? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The absolute easiest thing that anyone may do is to stop working for the enemy. Actively abetting your own slave owners is beyond stupid. A "#walkaway" for government employment would end all of this very quickly, and for those that desire to be slaves, at least it would get the attention of the ownership. Who knows? Maybe once one lifts the yoke off for a month or two, one may find that he or she or it or they don't need the yoke at all. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I live in one of the hottest regions in the USA, with heat indicies routinely over 110 degrees. I have a single window that opens. I have a single ceiling fan. I have air conditioners in every other room, and I have never once turned them on. My electricity is included in the rent, so my landlord loves me. The settlers founded this city 300 years ago. They didn't have ac, fans or even ice. No "moisture wicking clothes". Almost all work was done during the daytime outside. Somehow they survived. People have become wimps. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum :):):) npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum In either case, government ruined the economy. As it must do. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum 3...2...1: "We regret to announce that those damn MAG- no wait, those damn Russki- no, um, those damn Iranians - yeah that's right, the Iranians - have hacked Coinbase and stolen the entirety of the wealth of the United States Government. Therefore, please know that all government services are to be curtailed immediately, except for the following: the miitary/deep state - naturally. we have to bomb those Iranians back to the stone age for stealing your social security the capitol and white house - we need trusted leadership to get us through these hard times Israel - cuz God. "We" are all in this together. Please gather all your belongings and put them on the sidewalk curb where they will be collected by the miitary to aid in our fight for reveng- um, for democracy! anyone failing to cede their belongings will be executed on sight. We can't all be hoarders - oops, I mean that YOU can't be hoarders now. -end of page- npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The list goes on and on. The Lusitania, the "food pyramid" and all the lies about nutrition and health - George Carlin said that his first rule was to disbelieve everything the government says, and he was correct and in many cases prescient about just about every government action. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum LOL. I've had eight people cut my hair in my entire life, and three of them cut it only once. When you find the right one, hold on for dear life. I tip my guy $100 extra every Xmas, beside doubling the fee upon every visit. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Is it true that Kamala and Jill have both volunteered to jump over a pool of sharks on a motorcycle to save the country? #grownostr #interestwaning #politics #boycottgovernment npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum TBH I hadn't much concern nor trepidation regarding the change of drapes at the White House next January - until now. The shooting and this choice are clearly indicating that the next wave of tighter authoritarianism is nigh. The media has gotten the word to prop up Trump, aided by his "heroic" stance after the "assassination" attempt, and are now feeding TSS (Trump Saviour Syndrome) rather than TDS. This is because the plan is for more censorship ("maybe we should ban "harsh rhetoric") and what I expect to be stronger lockdowns (remember that Trump is the Lockdown and Vaccine President). His choices of "comrades" seem to be even worse than in 2016. He's bringing back Pompeo, the CIA who has admitted that he is trained to "lie, cheat and steal", he's suddendly buddy-buddy with "Dick Cheney (more like Hillary Clinton) in heels", Dimon for Treasury and now he brings in the technocrat who is also likely a deep state plant. There will be an intensification of the war effort, but the war is government versus proles. Haley and her minions will push for censorship and other restrictions of freedom and Vance will push for his technocrats to increase surveillance to even higher preter-Orwellian levels. But hey, that's just me. #grownostr #agenda2030 #orwell npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/04/26/steven-spielberg-close-encounters-joe-biden-story/ npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum remember when the Biden campaign announced that Spielberg had been procured to "tell the Biden story"? Maybe the "story" is bigger than Biden... npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum 9 shots, 3 weapons, according to George Webb. Also an interesting story on four motorcade cops who magically appeared and added to the motorcade while en route, two of which were ijured during the "incident". npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Good observation - better than mine. I agree that Trump is just the "Punch" in the Punch and Judy Show that is presented to the governed as drama, with all puppets being run by the same puppeteer. Your obervatio makes more sense than my own. Even with my extreme distrust of the "deep state", in the end they are all part of the same cabal. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I'm not a Trump fan, nor a fan of any form of government that operates without the consent of the governed (which means ALL government), but since I am extremely distrustful of what many call "the deep state", my theory is that this was a setup to make the "the deep state" look good (see? we killed the guy that shot Trump!), so that when Trump does get his goose cooked, as it were, "the deep state" will be able to say "well, it certainly wasn't us - we were trying to protect the guy!"). Psyops are so much better than they were in 1963. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Never fired a gun. Never owned one. But I'd buy a ton of bullets. Good trading item. Need to find which are the most popular. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Just once I'd like to see a guerrilla press conference with our pal. Instead of antagonizing her and giving her the opportunity to spew her gaslight bile, just accept the farce that it is. Ask questions like: "Does the President like apples?" "who does your hair?" "any ideas for the bachelorette finale this season?" "would the white house consider a collaboration with SKIMS?" They want a circus, so give them a circus. #grownostr #laughteristhebestmedicine #biden2024 npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Exactly. 10 guys show up at your door. "We're here to rape your wife and daughters". You say no. "well, there's ten of us and only four of you. This is a democracy." npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Max Iger says that "Australia is dying due to apathy" but I say the exact opposite. The problem isn't apathy - it's the exact opposite. Why do some proles readily and enthusiastically take up the cause of the ruling class? Police, military - if no one chose to serve the ruling class, the ruling class would not exist. I don't blame "the apathetic" - I blame those who actively support those who would destroy personal freedom. I don't blame those who simply want to go to work each day and support their families and see their children grow. I blame those who pull the trigger. I blame those who fly the drones. I blame those who join the ruling class to oppress or even kill the proles. It's time to make "working for the government" - especially in any kind of oppressive way, like cops or military - a shame worse that being a child molester. That doesn't take much. First - don't be an oppressor. Embrace your apathy. Live and let live. Next, encourage others to do the same. The funny part of this war is that the "call to action" is the exact opposite of what the proles need to do to win the war. Be "inactive". Walk (or sit in your sofa) away. Just don't do anything at all to advance the cause of the ruling class. Never has a revolution been so easy. #endthefed #endthewar #freedom #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum "drowning in their own excerement isn't good enough for the-" um, actually, that's a perfect way for them to die. is ther a latrine under the Capitol building? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum A local distillery, now sadly gine due to a fire, sold a rum and ginger beer concoctio called "Gingeroo" in those same bottles. I not only saved every bottle, but also at parties where there were bottles I would come and gather the empty bottles on the day following the party. I have aroud a hundred of them and I use them to hold drinking water (we have outages more frequently than one would expect), maple syrup and any other liquid of valuie. I love them and I wish every liquid was distributed in bottles like this. As an aside - plastic bottles didn't become popular until the mid-1970s. Glass sods bottles, sold in quarts/litres, were quite heavy if buying more than one and thus soda in the home wasn't popular back then. I remember my dad buying a case (16 bottles) of various sodas for a party and it weighed a ton lol. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum 100% true. Also, no government ever expanded freedom during its reign. By definition, government removes freedom just by existing, and then it continues to block freedom more and more until it finally falls, and then another government takes its place and does the same thing. For goverment to exist, it must take away freedom. This is the definition of goverment. Government, like a living organism, then attempts to grow, and by growing takes away more ad more freedom. Government feeds on the freedoms of the governed. The more it takes, the bigger it gets. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The ruling class has no skin in a war, which is part of what makes them so desirable to same. Even a scary "world war", killing billions of proles, will leave the ruling class fairly unscathed. This isn't an idle prediction - it's coded into the system. They call it "continuity of government". If one remembers that the only war is government v the proles, what does "continuity of government" mean? They'll hide in their shelters if need be, but in all likelihood they won't be threatened at all as powerful weapons target "population centers" rather than the places where the ruling class are mostly likely to inhabit. Grand Cayman? Bora Bora? Aspen? Davos? They'll all be spared. And when it's "over" (the war v the proles will never truly be over), they'll return to their positions of power and demand that the proles rebuild themselves, taking loans from the ruling class of course, so that they can be ruled and maybe assaulted again if their numbers being rising. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum It's not "the fourth of July". It's Independence Day. The day that the so-called founders of this country declared in writing that the only law is "Natural" (God's) Law" and that "all men are created equal" is self-evident. Sadly, less than a decade later, many of the same people who signed that declaration then chose to create a hierarchy of men, who not only were chosen to create laws for all the others, but also to create laws for all of the others' progeny until the end of time. There is only one law. They got it right on Independence Day. Celebrate that all humans live under only one law. The law of God. #IndependenceDay #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Link? Although I do think that some teens, those without any type of parental or other support, may be duped into doing things that they may not understand, but that applies to anyone of any age - in fact, elders may be even more susceptible to those evildoers than teens are. Every case must be evaluated on its own terms and circumstances. There is no "formula". npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum My father's first girlfriend was 18 when they started dating - he was 24. He had known her and her family for four years before that. He worked with the girl's older sister and his mom and her mom worked together. They dated for seven years and were substitute parents to the girl's nephew, who's dad was in jail. My dad was the best man at her sister's wedding. Now. forty years after that, they are back together. Was that grooming? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum cuales son los que no se pueden pararse? cuales son los que viven baja de fuerzas que no se pueden escapar? ningunos. todos comprenden los que hacen, ningunos viven baja fuerzas inescapables. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Q:Why do we bother with primaries and conventions anyhow? A: It's all part of the show. It's a fundraiser. There is no legal reason to which any party must adhere regarding choice of candidate. I thought that was made apparent during the Bernie/Hillary switcheroo. In fact, there is no legal basis for parties at all (or the government itself, but let's pretend that there is some ephemeral "right to govern" for the sake of argument.) Anyone may run for president. Any party may choose whomever the party chooses to run. People somehow believe that "they have a choice" by having primaries, but all they are is circus. Believing that you have a choice of a party's candidate because you vote for their choice is like believing that you have choice of the CEO of M&M/Mars because you bought a bag of peanut M&M's. You're just a customer. Sure, no company wants to lose customers, but that doesn't mean that the company gives up control of itself to those customers. #grownostr #anarchonostr #red #blue npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum my favourite map of the world: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0071/5032/products/upside-down-world-map-hema_9ebfa552-987a-44c8-9f79-eb17d93b6224.png spoiler alert: Russia is really big. Canada too. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum "The Federal Reserve is a private corporation..." "Data that could be released includes millions of Americans' social security numbers..." um, did I miss the consent form where a private corporation has my social security information? I know that opening a bank account likely means that you are sharing your information with the government, but is there anything in there about sharing your private information with private corporations? Or does the Fed get consent elsewhere? #grownostr #endthefed #n00bstr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The easiest and laziest way to end tyranny worldwide would be to simply refuse to take up arms. For anyone - not even the banks lol. Without the threat of violence, which because of sheer numbers must enlist the proles aginst one another, there would no longer be any rulers. One literally doesn't have to do a thing. The hippies ("flower children") had a poster in the 60's of a daisy in the barrel of a gun. "What if there were a war and no one came?" It's that easy. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum My walk with "Arya": what percentage of social security benefits are paid to non-retirees? The exact percentage of social security benefits paid to non-retirees can vary from year to year, but as of 2021, approximately 20% of social security benefits were paid to non-retirees. This includes individuals who are receiving disability benefits, survivor benefits, and other types of benefits that are not based on retirement age. The remaining 80% of social security benefits are paid to retirees who have reached the eligibility age for retirement benefits. how many social security recipients collect more than they paid in, inflation and interest-adjusted It is difficult to determine the exact number of social security recipients who collect more than they paid in, adjusted for inflation and interest, as this can vary depending on a number of factors, including a person's income, age at retirement, and the rate of inflation. However, according to some estimates, a significant number of social security recipients do collect more in benefits than they paid in taxes over the course of their working lives. This is due in part to the progressive nature of the social security system, which provides greater benefits to lower-income workers relative to their contributions. Additionally, the social security system is designed to provide a safety net for retirees, disabled individuals, and survivors, and as such, it is not intended to be a purely actuarial system in which benefits are strictly tied to contributions. how much of social security benefits are paid to non-US citizens The exact percentage of social security benefits paid to non-US citizens can vary from year to year, but as of 2021, approximately 1% of social security benefits were paid to non-US citizens. This includes individuals who are receiving social security benefits based on their work history in the United States, as well as individuals who are receiving benefits based on the work history of a deceased spouse or parent. Some non-US citizens may also be eligible for social security benefits based on a totalization agreement between the United States and their country of citizenship. These agreements allow individuals who have worked in both countries to combine their work history in order to qualify for social security benefits. how large was the average newly built home in the usa in 1961? In 1961, the average newly built home in the United States was approximately 1,300 square feet. This is significantly smaller than the average newly built home in the United States today, which is approximately 2,500 square feet. The increase in the size of newly built homes over the past several decades can be attributed to a number of factors, including changes in household demographics, rising incomes, and changes in consumer preferences. when did social security start paying benefits to non-retirees Social security began paying benefits to non-retirees in 1939, with the implementation of the survivor benefits program. This program provides benefits to the surviving spouses and children of deceased workers who were covered by social security. In 1956, social security was expanded to include disability benefits for disabled workers who are unable to work due to a qualifying medical condition. These benefits are available to individuals who have worked and paid social security taxes for a sufficient period of time, regardless of their age or retirement status. Since the introduction of these programs, social security has continued to evolve and expand, providing a range of benefits to individuals and families in need. detail the exlpansion of social security since 1956 Since the introduction of disability benefits in 1956, social security has undergone several expansions and reforms aimed at improving the program and providing additional support to individuals and families in need. Some of the key changes and expansions of social security since 1956 include: Medicare: In 1965, social security was expanded to include Medicare, a health insurance program for individuals aged 65 and older, as well as certain younger individuals with disabilities. Medicare provides coverage for hospitalization, medical care, and prescription drugs, and is an essential component of the social safety net for older Americans. Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs): In 1972, social security was amended to include automatic COLAs, which are designed to help protect the purchasing power of social security benefits by adjusting them for inflation. COLAs are based on changes in the Consumer Price Index and are applied to benefits each year. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) for non-work-related disabilities: In 1972, social security was amended to allow individuals with non-work-related disabilities to receive disability benefits based on their work history and contributions to the social security system. Supplemental Security Income (SSI): In 1972, social security was expanded to include SSI, a needs-based program that provides cash assistance to low-income individuals who are aged, blind, or disabled. SSI benefits are funded through general tax revenues and are not based on an individual's work history or contributions to the social security system. Social Security Amendments of 1983: In 1983, social security was amended to strengthen the financial stability of the program and ensure its long-term solvency. These amendments included changes to the retirement age, increases in the payroll tax rate, and the introduction of taxes on social security benefits for higher-income individuals. Social Security Disability Reform Act of 1984: In 1984, social security was amended to improve the administration of disability benefits and to provide additional support to disabled individuals. These changes included the establishment of a medical-vocational guidelines system, which is used to determine eligibility for disability benefits based on an individual's age, education, and work experience. Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999: In 1999, social security was amended to provide additional support to disabled individuals who are able to work. This legislation introduced the Ticket to Work program, which provides vocational rehabilitation services and other employment support to disabled individuals who are interested in returning to work. These are just a few examples of the many changes and expansions that have occurred in the social security system since 1956. Social security continues to evolve and adapt to meet the needs of individuals and families in the United States, and is an essential component of the social safety net for millions of Americans. when will social security go broke? The solvency of the social security system is a complex issue that is influenced by a variety of factors, including demographic trends, economic conditions, and changes in the program's funding and benefits. According to the most recent estimates from the Social Security Trustees, the social security trust funds are projected to be depleted by 2035. This means that if no changes are made to the program, social security will be able to pay only about 80% of scheduled benefits after 2035. However, it is important to note that this projection is based on a range of assumptions and uncertainties, and the actual timing and severity of social security's financial challenges could vary depending on a number of factors. Furthermore, there are a variety of potential policy solutions that could be implemented to address social security's long-term financial challenges, including changes to the program's funding, benefits, or eligibility criteria. had social security benefits been paid solely to retirees, would the social security trust be solvent today? It is difficult to determine whether the social security trust would be solvent today if benefits had been paid solely to retirees, as this would depend on a number of factors, including the specific eligibility criteria and benefit levels that would have been in place under such a system. However, it is likely that the social security system would be in a stronger financial position if benefits were limited to retirees, as the program would not be responsible for providing benefits to non-retirees, such as disabled individuals and survivors. Additionally, limiting benefits to retirees would likely reduce the overall cost of the program, as retirees are generally a smaller and less expensive group of beneficiaries than non-retirees. However, it is important to note that such a system would also likely result in reduced support for disabled individuals, survivors, and other vulnerable populations, and would therefore have significant social and economic consequences. but those other "vulnerable" populations could be supported by other government programs? Yes, it is possible that other government programs could be developed to support vulnerable populations, such as disabled individuals and survivors, if social security were to be limited to retirees. However, it is important to note that social security is currently the largest source of income for many disabled individuals and survivors, and that the development of alternative programs to support these populations would likely require significant additional funding and resources. Furthermore, the social security system is designed to provide a broad range of benefits to individuals and families in need, and limiting the program to retirees would likely have significant social and economic consequences, including reduced support for vulnerable populations and increased inequality. that makes no sense. the amout necessary to support fthe vulnerable populations would remain the same regardless of the funding source You are correct that the amount necessary to support vulnerable populations would remain the same regardless of the funding source. However, the development of alternative programs to support these populations would likely require significant additional funding and resources, as these programs would need to be designed, implemented, and administered separately from the social security system. Furthermore, the social and economic consequences of limiting the social security system to retirees would likely be significant, including reduced support for vulnerable populations and increased inequality. As such, while it is possible to imagine alternative funding sources for supporting vulnerable populations, the development of such programs would likely require significant additional resources and would have significant social and economic implications. so bureaucracy would simply increast the cost of supportig the vulnerable? The development of alternative programs to support vulnerable populations would likely require additional funding and resources, as these programs would need to be designed, implemented, and administered separately from the social security system. While it is possible that some bureaucratic inefficiencies could be reduced by limiting the social security system to retirees, it is also likely that the development of alternative programs would introduce new bureaucratic inefficiencies, such as the need for additional administrative staff and resources to manage these programs. As such, while it is possible to imagine alternative funding sources for supporting vulnerable populations, the development of such programs would likely require significant additional resources and would have significant social and economic implications. well, bankrupting social security trust would also have "significant social and economic implications". How much money would it take annually to support vulnerable populations? The amount of money required to support vulnerable populations, such as disabled individuals and survivors, would depend on a number of factors, including the specific eligibility criteria and benefit levels that would be in place under such a system. However, it is likely that the cost of supporting these populations would be significant, as social security is currently the largest source of income for many disabled individuals and survivors. According to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly benefit for disabled workers in 2022 was $1,261, while the average monthly benefit for survivors was $1,261 for widowed mothers and $1,888 for disabled adult children. The total cost of disability and survivor benefits in 2022 was approximately $215 billion. While it is possible to imagine alternative funding sources for supporting these populations, the development of such programs would likely require significant additional resources and would have significant social and economic implications. everything has significant social and economic implications. You are correct that many decisions and policies have significant social and economic implications. However, it is important to carefully consider the potential consequences of any changes to the social security system, as the program plays a critical role in providing support to millions of individuals and families in need. While it is possible to imagine alternative funding sources for supporting vulnerable populations, the development of such programs would likely require significant additional resources and would have significant social and economic implications. As such, any changes to the social security system should be carefully considered and designed to ensure that the program remains a reliable and effective source of support for individuals and families in need. what is welfare, then? Welfare refers to a range of government programs and policies designed to provide assistance to individuals and families in need. Welfare programs are typically funded through general tax revenues and are intended to support vulnerable populations, such as low-income households, disabled individuals, and children. The specific types of welfare programs and the level of support provided can vary depending on the country and the specific program. In the United States, for example, welfare programs include initiatives such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which provides cash assistance to low-income families with children, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance to low-income households. Welfare programs are an important component of the social safety net and play a critical role in reducing poverty and supporting vulnerable populations. so both welfare and social security support vulnerable populations? Yes, both welfare and social security support vulnerable populations. While the specific types of support provided by these programs can vary, both are designed to provide assistance to individuals and families in need. Welfare programs are typically funded through general tax revenues and are intended to support a range of vulnerable populations, such as low-income households, disabled individuals, and children. Social security, on the other hand, is a social insurance program that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to individuals and families based on their work history and contributions to the social security system. While there are some key differences between these programs, both play a critical role in reducing poverty and supporting vulnerable populations. why not move all financial support to vulnerable populations under one umbrella? Consolidating all financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could have several potential benefits, including increased efficiency and reduced administrative costs. However, it could also have several potential drawbacks, including reduced flexibility in responding to the unique needs of different populations and reduced accountability for program performance. Furthermore, the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could also have significant political and social implications, as it would likely require significant changes to existing programs and policies. As such, while there may be some potential benefits to consolidating financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella, any such changes should be carefully considered and designed to ensure that the needs of all vulnerable populations are effectively addressed. one would expect that consolidation of finiancial support would actually INCREASE accountability for program performance as it would all be in one place You are correct that consolidating financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could potentially increase accountability for program performance, as it would provide a centralized location for monitoring and evaluating program outcomes. However, it is also possible that the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could reduce accountability for program performance, as it would likely involve the creation of a large and complex bureaucracy that could be difficult to manage and oversee. Furthermore, the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could also reduce flexibility in responding to the unique needs of different populations, as it would likely involve the development of a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. As such, while there may be some potential benefits to consolidating financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella, any such changes should be carefully considered and designed to ensure that the needs of all vulnerable populations are effectively addressed. it's difficult to imagine a larger and more complex bureaucracy than the united states government You are correct that the United States government is already a large and complex bureaucracy, and the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could potentially add to this complexity. However, it is also possible that the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could lead to increased efficiency and reduced administrative costs, as it would provide a centralized location for managing and overseeing program operations. Furthermore, the consolidation of financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella could potentially reduce duplication of services and improve coordination between different programs and agencies. As such, while there may be some potential benefits to consolidating financial support for vulnerable populations under one umbrella, any such changes should be carefully considered and designed to ensure that the needs of all vulnerable populations are effectively addressed. So, just like government, "arya" just talks in circles and contradicts itself in any way possible to keep the status quo. Artificial? Yup! "intelligent"? Hardly. But hey, GIGO. #nostr #AI #socialsecurity #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I am also a member of the "no airplane mode". I've also tried making phone calls from a plane in flight and have never been able to connect. Evidently the techonology existed in 2001, when so many passengers on the doomed flights were able to say goodbye to their loved ones, but I guess it doesn't exist any more. Like the technology for making moon landings. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Strike up the music! The "slap and seal" song never gets old. Pfizer will be fined a pittance, which will be appealed to nothing, like the Exxon Valdez "settlement", while incriminating evidence of far worse crimes by far more powerful entities will be sealed forever. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I am, of course, in favor of the ban of all weapons. The police, the military and all those other government agents have far too much artillery. Disarming them will make us all safer. #disarmthegovernment Oh wait..this wasn't directed at the government? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I was listening down memory lane a few weeks ago and was reminded how the music industry rebelled against censorship in the form of Tipper Gore's PMRC. Ice-T's "Freedom of Speech...Just Watch What You Say". Megadeth had one, and even the somewhat cartoonish 2 Live Crew ended their Springsteen redo "Banned In the USA" with an ineloquent but almost touching monologue embracing free speech for all. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The police department is like a crew It does whatever it wants to do npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum d'oh. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum "Small minds talk about people"... npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum adding to this thought: what if the "basque" wookies (see original post) hated the "tongan" wookies and vice versa, so much so that when Han opened his big stupid human mouth, Chewbacca took his head off thinking that Han was an enemy sympathizer? and, going back to the original thought, do dogs have "multiple languages" or are humans the only species on the planet (or even the universe) that has multiple languages? If so........why? #biblenostr #grownostr #nostrupallnight #starwars #dogs #language npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum My thought of the day: I was watching a dog and her human family and wondered about dog life. They don't understand human "language" at all, even though some of them can learn to react to certain sounds in what humans perceive as different languages. Yet, dogs don't understand that these are "languages". To a dog, it's just humans making noises. If two monoglot (one language speaking) humans were in the same room giving commands to one dog, and if the dog were trained to understand the noises coming from either one, the dog would have no idea (nor care, I guess) that the two humans cannot understand one another. This led me to thinking about extraterrestrials. In the movies, invading aliens always speak the same language and of course the humans somehow make themselves understood despite humanity having hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects. Of course, its possible that an invading force would speak only one language for efficacy's sake, and that the alien force would learn only the predominant language necessary to communicate with the most powerful of the prey species. But what about the other way around? Star Trek/Star Wars landed on myriad planets and some of them even had species that spoke different languages on the same planet (think "ewoks"). BUT, I don't believe that any have considered that species themselves, like humans, could have hundreds or thousands of languages within the specie itself? For example, Han Solo could understand Chewbacca because "he spoke Wookie". But what if Chewbacca was a "basque" wookie and the wookie language that Han understood was "tongan" wookie? It would be unintelligible to him and Chewbacca may have believed that Han's version of "wookie" wasn't even "wookie" at all. Forgive me if I screwed up any of the Star Wars parlance - I'm not a Star Wars (nor Star Trek) fan outside of the most popular memes. But anyway, these are the kind of thoughts that keep me awake at night lol. #nostr #starwars #wookie #dogs #language #grownostr #nostrupallnight npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Been saying this for years - in fact, I just voiced it again yesterday in a group discussion. It is my sincere belief that the gold (maybe all, maybe just a significant portion of same) that supposedly exists at Fort Knox was delivered out many decades ago to places like Israel, China, maybe even European countries, in exchange for influence, graft, money laundering, et cetera. Even if the USG were to attempt to resuscitate the gold standard, a run on the assets would quickly prove that "there is no 'there' there". Canada did actually audit their gold holdings a few decades ago and came up short. Nothing was done about it - no investigations, nothing. But they did at least admit that the audit failed. And remember all the gold/precious metals supposedly held at the WTC? I remember people asking about it, but I don't remember ever hearing any response to those queries. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum You're such a troll. Get it? :) npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum LOL I wonder if that's how they do it at Fort Knox..#itaintthere npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Exactly. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum see "jury nullification". I served on a jury many decades ago but have yet to be chosen since I read about jury nullificatio, which is legal here. I can't wait to drop that onto my fellow jurors. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum "Drink mor chikin" - Chick Fil A npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I always find it interesting when someone or something wants to "educate" me rather than "inform" me. It's an easy way to discern which people or organisations are disseminating propaganda as their mission, rather than provide facts and then let me decide how to interpret same. "Education" means omission of anything deemed contrary to the mission of the educator and sometimes even outright falsification of information to "fortify" their opinions. The other keyword is "democracy", which of course is mob rule. Interesting that "freedom", which is said to be the cornerstone upon which western values are built, almost never appears near the word "democracy". This is proper because "democracy" is the exact opposite of freedom. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Geez I hope that the nostr owners never enforce this. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum They are STILL pushing the "glacier melt will drown all of us" narrative? The one that defies primary school level physics? Even as beachfront property continues to be purchased and built upon by those spreading the panic? Even though anyone with eyesight can tell that sea levels haven't risen anywhere on earth (although there are places that have sunk into the sea, which according to this ridiculous logic should cause even more "rise in sea level")? smh npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum https://image.nostr.build/e82b5d2068f2163e5e180bc6b6bc3a2b51840ce8759d81226a7c3c3947329bc1.jpg npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum "red touches yellow. dangerous fellow red touches black, he's OK, Jack!" I still remember that from primary school field trips to the zoo. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum This is encouraging, but Im sure that you knnow that these amounts are tiny compared to the money held by these companies. They could have just as much invested in baseball cards. But, it is encouraging. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum There's always someone. Thank God for that. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum In my experience, Chinese "regular folk" are pretty blunt, or what some may call "based". If you're fat, they'll say "hey, fatty!". The "pejorative" term for white people is "dabizi", which means "big nose". They don't say these things to insult so much, they just state what they consider to be obvious as a way to identify people - think "Little Rascals" in the USA of the 20's and 30's. Nicknames regarding physical features were common and not necessairly meant to insult. My Mandarin teacher was "straight off the boat", although she glommed onto capitalism pretty fast - after one semester at a "language school", she made a separate deal with me to continue classes privately, cutting out the middle man :) She taught university by day, and she, without any prompting by me, asked me "why are black people so lazy?". I was taken aback a little not so much by her opinion but that she was so matter-of-fact about stating it. I danced around the issue and mentioned that there are plenty of lazy kids in university of all persuasions. But it did strike me that she (and other Chinese, as I discovered later) was so blunt about opinions that would be considered "delicate" in western society. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Not defending by any means, but one of the many great "advancements" that the Clinton administration introduced to the federal government was the "substitution" theory. The "idea" was that keeping a static "basket of goods" in the inflation measure was "unrealisitic" because people, being faced with an astronomical increase in the price of a single item - say "swiss chard", would then "substitute" that item in the basket for something cheaper, say "iceburg lettuce", and that action should be reflected in the measure of inflation. This was done with the intention of lowering the COLA (cost of living adjustment) given to social security recipients in the face of inflating prices. Theree have been many "adjustments" to the "basket" over the ensuing forty years, Grapes go up? Substitute "oranges". The idea was to eliminate spikes from "temporary" changes in price, due to a bad crop or whatever. But anyone with a right mind and any skepticism at all of the federal government knew what that real goal was. Keep changing the goods to loeer the "official" rate of inflation and thus lower the "COLAs". Way back then, some people continued to publish the rate with the constant basket of items, but eventually they gave up. By the way, the "unemployment rate" was similarly affected by the Clinton administration when the rate of "number of employed" was changed from "those who are jobless" to "those who are actively seeking work an remain jobless", also in an effort to adjust damaging government statistics to something more palatable to the proletariat. The fake "unemployment rate" lives today. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Last night I watched Ron Paul interviewing a candidate for Libertarian Party's nomination for POTUS. They asked him a tough question: "If you were to be magically placed into the seat of the POTUS right now, today, what would you do?" The tap dancing was hilarious. I shun politics completely, but from what I understand, wouldn't a Libertarian first rescind all foreign aid (not just to Israel, but to every foreign country) and also revoke membership in all "entangling agreements", like the UN (first order of business) and then NATO (more difficult)? A true hands off policy on Israel may temporarily "enable genocide", but as soon as the money runs out and without big brother saving their political ass internationally (no more UN Security Council vetos), wouldn't that eventually end the problem of Israeli aggression oonce and for all? I thought that this was an easy question. The candidate quickly ran off on tangents in just about every direction and of course never answered the question asked. This is why even "third-party" candidates cannot be trusted to rule over humanity. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum This seems right. Home prices (automobiles too) are probably the highest inflated prices of any items that consumers would expect to buy and college tuition increases certainly would be comparable to housing. Of course, at one time this was seen as a "benefit" - "a house is the best investment that you may make", which may still be true for practicality but as a hedge against inflation maybe less so, especially if the government actually somehow finds a way to tax unrealised gains. The goal, it seems, is to make home ownership more or less impossible except for those in the government and their allies. College tuitions are already demonstrably worth less despite the increase in cost, but one doesn't necessarily NEED a college degree (I don't have one), but housing is a necessity. Of course, one could also make the argument that houses are far larger and more luxurious than those purchased by our grandparents. My cousin laughed at me when I reminisced about the house he grew up in, laughing it off as "ridiculously small" with bedrooms just big enough for a twin bed and an equal sized area of play space for him and his sister, and of course the family of four shared a bathroom. Maybe the housing prices need to be adjusted for bathrooms/square footage lol. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum If you hadn't already figured out that Snowden is also a plant, maybe the idea that Signal has a president should have set off a few bells...#decentralize #allmenarecreatedequal #allauthorityisunnatural npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Is this inflation adjusted? Cuz I think the kids now will be millionaires. But a loaf of bread may cost $10 million. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Exactly. The staffing here has never been lower. But, thank the Lord for all the surveillance cameras and the city partnership with Palantir (made without public scrutiny or even informing the city council). Now the bereaved can relive the terror of their loved ones any time they'd like by simply re-watching the footage. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Ticket revenue has been a line item in the New Orleans City budget for over two decades. It's not "rainy day" "windfall" money. It's expected. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Ross Perot famously proposed a "tax return on a postcard". No deductions, no anything. Just income here, tax due there. Everyone laughed him out of the building, at least until he won enough votes to sneak Bill Clinton into the White House with a pluarily of 43.8% of the votes cast (of course, every president is "elected" with a plurality of the total voting public). Perot also described NAFTA as "creating a giant sucking sound" as it hollwed out American industry. Perot did not win, Clinton did, NAFTA passed, Glass-Steagall ended, the Interstate Banking Act passed, the Telegraph Act passed, Monica Lewinsky and Hillary Clinton became household names, and Mark Rich was pardoned. And here we are..:) The generational wealth folks don't care if the inheritance taxes (or any other tax, for that matter) go to 100%. The current vogue among the "super-rich" is foundations, which become 501(c)3 (tax-exempt) organisations by dint of their tossing money at various enterprises - logically those enterprises who stand to create wealth for the same founders of the foundation. For example, Gates buys vaccine patents, Gates Foundation promotes vaccines worldwide. Gates himself earns very little income, but as an "unpaid" employee of his foundation, all his expenses are paid and written off by his foundation. This isn't new. Every tax code change always embeds a leaky get-out clause for those with the best lawyers and accountants, and they are always well-informed as to where to find those leaks well before any legislation passes. As far as the poor ol' USA goes, well, they'll just keep printing money and backing it with threats of violence to those (foreign and domestic) who fail to accept their toilet paper. At some point, the very richest will simply shut the place down and return us all to outright feudalism and disabuse us of the charade that we've been playing for over a century. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Careful there. The Rockefellers and other family empires may hear you. Of course the Biden machine doesn't have anything against generational wealth. For them. There are always loopholes for those with the resources to use them. But as far as Becky and Tom on the family farm, they'll be screwed even more "royally" than they were with the last change in the inheritance tax. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Erdogan is a jerk, but the way he plays both sides against each other is masterful. He'd be a great secretary of state. :) npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum exactly. the life you save is defeintely 100% not your own. Or your family's. or your friend's. or anyone that you know. or anyone that values your life even one sat. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum How much hubris does one need to have to believe that one is present "at the end of days"? There have predictions of the end since the end was even considered. 1984, 1988, 2000...Hale-Bopp...people love to believe that they are "special" - in this case, that they will be the ones, after hundreds of centuries, to be the "final" generation. Well, guess what kids. In that same Book of Revelation that the end-sayers like to quote, it is quite clear that the "end of days" will last for decades and even centuries and definitely through many generations. Maybe this is the beginning. Maybe it began centuries ago. But if you think that you are "special" enough to see the "final confrontation", or to see the return of the Messiah (which even if you do see, you may not recognise it, as predicted in the Bible), you're very likely just deluding yourselves with visions of grandeur. The best way to see the Messiah is to live by the two commandments that will get you to heaven: belief in Jesus as the Son of God and the Golden Rule. Everything else is just hubris. Get over yourself. Earth is not the final destination. What happens to it is beyond our concern. Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. He created us and He'll be here at the end. You will likely not be here at the end. So stop worrying about it. #grownostr #endofdays #apocalypse npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum My journey started in college, like the journeys of a lot of people. My girlfriend (my first! thanks all-male high school) worked on the John Anderson campaign and I was intrigued by the idea of the "outlaw" candidate (ok, stop laughing. I was just starting out). I never did vote "red" or "blue", up until the time I realized that it wasn't about "getting the best person" to "lead" us, but that the entire system is in direct opposition to the ideas promulgated in the "revered" Declaration of Indepedence (remember when we had to memorize that first paragraph? Boy, did that ever backfire on the establishment, at least as far as I'm concerned). Anyway, this isn't about that. This is about when I stopped believing in all these farcical "honoring the country" exercises. Most notably, the "national sing along". No, I don't kneel when I hear it - that is probably the most hilarious reaction to it that I can possibly imagine. What made me stop was simply listening to the lyrics. No, I'm not some weird peacenik that hates that it glorifies violence. I didn't even know about the other verses so I didn't care about that either. It was about, ironically, respect. I don't respect the military, but I admit that, especially in years past, soldiers were so propagandized that they believed killing civilans turned cannon fodder of other nationalities wasn't really about simply exoendig the power of the ruling class. Those poor fools. I think about them every time I hear the national sing along. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? "Cherish their memory"? "Honor them"? Then I think about now. "Home of the Brave"? Really? Where's my nearest safe space in case I'm triggered by someone's differing opinion? "Land of the Free"? I can't even leave, or fish, or cut someone's hair, without getting government permission. Worst of all, our "leaders" have devolved to the point that one of those talking mounted fish (remember them?) has more respect worldwide than our "leader". No, I don't respect this government or any government. "All men are created equal" - remember that, Sister Mary Ruler? Don't you hate that I remembered that? I don't respect this country or any country. Land has no ruler. Sadly, though, I do have respect for humanity. I listen to that stupid sing along and all I feel is shame. Those poor idiots died in piles, thinking that somehow their progeny would benefit. And now we have an inanimate carbon rod for a leader - not that the others have been much better, but at least they carried on appearances. People will say "I have no respect for: a) this country b) the flag c) all those that sacrificed Sorry, but it's the "voting public" that has no respect for those who died in vain, stupidly or not, believing in "freedom". Their ancestors would be sorely disappointed in them. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Interesting day. Here's Ron Paul quoting Lysander Spooner and mentioning "voluntaryism" in a good light. Maybe even Dr Paul is finally seeing the light? https://vigilante.tv/w/44572 #grownostr #ancap #voluntaryism npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Sad. The goal should be to be "clear pilled". Know what's going on. Life isn't a series of events, but instead a series of our reactions to events that are out of our control. Learn, don't panic or enrage oneself. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Anyone who truly believes in God would not fear God. God created us. He loves us. He will eventually reunite/reconstitute/whateveritisthatisfarbeyondourunderstanding us to him. Religion, on the other hand, uses "fear of God (or even "Mother Nature" to those who revere nature)" to attempt to control us. To remove God's very first gift to us - our free will. Jesus said on more than one occasion: "I am the Alpha and the Omega". He didn't say "I am the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta" et cetera. His teachings were that there are two "commandments": belief in God and the Golden Rule (paraphrasing Matthew27). That's it. No threats. No smiting. This is the God in which I believe. That all men are created equal. That there is no earthly authority - not generals, not governments, not popes, cardinals nor bishops. We are all equal and we should respect one another. God holds the box. Remember Dr Strange and his "14 billion alternate realities" from the Avengers movies. God has the story of every single one of them. All in his box. Like pachinko balls, there are many paths to get from the beginning to the end, but in the end, the balls are collected into the same bin and returned to the top. Jesus gave us helpful instructions to make our lives happoer and with less strife, but he doesn't force any particular path on us. He created us, and when our journey is over, he will be at its end. The Alpha and the Omega. Our "time" on theis plane is finite, and probably infinitesimal in the larger scheme. We should not fear its end. We should not fear returning to the creator. Everything else they tell us are "the words of man" (again paraphrasing Matthew, when Jesus rebukes the Pharisees). #religion #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The "electric cars" thing. People continue to make the assumption that "we all will have to get electric cars". That is not the case. The aim of the "electric cars" legislation isn't to force everyone to get electric cars. It is to remove transportation options from the majority of people. Electric cars, charging same and maintaining same will all be far too expensive for the regular schmoe to pay. People will be directed to use a form of "public transportation", which may include hiring electric cars, driverless or no, to take them places. There will be fewer of them than there are cars now, of course, and that transportation will also be expensive and more importantly, firmly under control of the government, with all movement of people restricted, surveilled and recorded. This is where your "carbon footprint" comes in. Did you visit grandma one too many times this year? Well, skip the family vacation. You get the drift. Electric cars are all part of the "15 minute cage- er. city" program. Gotta keep all those lab rats in their cages and feed them all the same food, or the experimental data is less useful. #electriccars #prius #fifteenminutecity #WEF #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I haven't had a television in my residence since 1994, and I've ever missed it. Until now. Will someone, ANYONE, please put together a 2+ magnum opus of all of Biden's gaffes? Well, to make it easier - just the ones since the 2020 election. I think that a cinema version of this would be the blockbuster that the movie industry has been looking for since Marvel went (even more) woke. Even if not released to cinemas, a streaming version would make a great opening attraction before "The Jones Plantation" - which, if you haven't seen, you should. #blockbuster #movie #entertainment #grownostr npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum That IS cool. I remember a relative having something that resembled that may decades ago. Cool find and great refurbishment! npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Once again, one must learn how to read. It does keep "us" safe. Can you guess who "us" is? See: "continuity of government". npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum um...i'm baking a quiche? :) I'm just here for the memes. And for the fuckery of being impossible to censor. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Remember everyone told us that Trump would get us into a world war and that he was engineering a way to end elections so that he would be the forever dictator? Good times.... npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Years ago, the local newspaper featured a regular "slice of life" columnist (google it, kids) named Chris Rose (no, not the ESPN guy) who wrote lightly comedic accounts of daily life in our unique city. Sadly, after the government failure called "Katrina", Chris' mental health suffered greatly and he went into a downward spiral that included addiction to "anti-depressants" and divorce. In his recovery, he mused about his sudden antipathy toward life and made a common sense but very well put statement: "When you hate 51% of people, maybe it's YOU." My belief is that the only war is actually rulers v proles, with the proles comprising far more than "51% of the people", and i firmly believe that the ruling class are not only at fault, but literally sociopathic. But to those who believe in "countries" and flags, the Empire is currently in "hot war" with only a small proportion of the world's population, but teetering toward adversarial relations, at the very best, with both a large portion of the Muslim world and the "country" called "China". Do we wait until there is a "hot war" to declare that the Empire now considers very close to 51% of the world's population as its enemy? At what point do we admit that the Empire itself is the villain? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I'll go further and state that the "Surveillance State" isn't just in the USA. The war is the ruling class v proles. Borders and divisions of power are illusory. Wars aren't "country v country", they are ruling class sending clueless proles to their deaths for fun. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Just because I surprised someone a few years ago when I mentioned this...RATM did a great job with this cover. The original was by Afrika Bambaataa. Oh to have the NYC of the 80's again... npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Call me a wet blanket, but Bush and Clintons and the Telecommunications Act, the Interstate Banking Act, end of Glass Steagall. I do agree that the music, especially toward the first half of the decade, was top notch. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum As George Carlin said.."this is the best we can do"... npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum I don't mind people being "woke" - it's a (purportedly) free country and even if not, I personally am not a totalitarian. But it is amazing to me how "woke" obliterates all other mental faculties. Math. 13%. Logic. Or is that part of the movement? Does one have to reject simple math and logic to be "woke"? npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Down here it's 100% overcast. Big dud lol. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Cool! Going to listen now! I feel that it is a compelling story and for the most part well documented. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum We can hope, but I am skeptical. Those in power have such a stranglehold on information that even when some inconvenient truths become impossible to hide, they just toss some toadie under a bus and declare the case closed. See: Epstein, Fauci. I still think that Biden is being set up to take a lot of falls too. But BB is another rung up the ladder. Maybe he'll be cut loose someday, but I think that he still has some use. OTOH, we all know that Killary wouldn't mind seeing him at the bottom of a well..:) npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Maybe I did? Unless something can be somehow used to impugn Trump, my guess is that we'll never hear another word about it. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum LOL I always love these ridiculous posts. Should the FBI...blah blah blah. Can you imagine a wwII rag posting a headline like "should Hitler release all the prisoners? Yes or No?" Your enemy doesn't give a shit about your polls. btw, jilted females - your ex isn't listening to your revenge song either. :) npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum The real money is in the unrefined ore. I just had two dump trucks full of Peruvian sand dropped off at my house. Can't wait to get rich! I live in an apartment building but fuck em. If they can't find anywhere else to park, I'll buy their friggin gas guzzlers with the profits when gold goes to 20000. npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Anyone else get a giggle at the fact that the between race entertainment at today's Dubai World Cup horse racing event was an exhibition of acrobatic aviation. I didn't see the guy who performed that crazy turn to hit the Pentagon, but I'm sure that he was there in spirit *chuckle* Well played, Dubai Royal Family. *golf clap* #grownostr #nostrtok #aviation npub1l45wqz79nexmtu79lv5up74e3mjwxnntpd6pxs7pzgu0vp33w32s7dl0g0 rinbaum Whether you care about Palestinians or Israelis or Etruscans isn't the point. Drone bombing harmlerss civilians is a "red flag". The takeaway is that this is being "normalized" by those in power because this is coming to ALL OF US. How far away are we from this same scenario being played out in Texas or Wyoming, when "government has determined that there is a "threat to democracy" from a bunch of meme-ers living "outside of the permitted area (15 minute city)"? 10 years? Maybe less? I know that people think that they will "hunker down" and grow their own food and "live like their great-grandparents", "off the grid". What happens when drones are sent over your property to kill everyone that moves? Will you have a computerized anti-drone rocket delivery system to stop them? #grownostr #nostrtok