Chit-Chat: The Feels

[Suzn]

A few facts for perspective.  My employer covers most of the cost of very good health insurance that for family coverage, costs nearly $48,000 a year.

I've gotten garnishments for student loans  that are around $50,000; the employee works part time for 12.50 an hour.  This was pre-pandemic and they are hired at 14.50 an hour now.

[Dimity]

39 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

RFK Jr as HHS Secretary. Good lord.

I swear he's trolling you all now.  This is absurd.  I feel like this past week has been an episode from the Twilight Zone and this is them going just that little bit too far...

Edited 2 hours ago by Dimity

[Lantern7]

45 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

RFK Jr as HHS Secretary. Good lord.

John Oliver covered him on Last Week Tonight. Near the end, he talked about how Junior was talking to Trump, and that Trump would consider him to run HHS in he dropped out. There was an audible gasp from the audience.

See for yourself. The whole thing is informative and a nightmare.

 

[fastiller]

This seems as good a place as any to mention this.

The Onion Buys Infowars, Will Turn Misinformation Hub Into Parody Site

Edited 1 hour ago by fastiller
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[Palimelon]

Democrat to file motion specifically mentioning Trump can only serve two terms.

Dan Goldman’s initiative will reiterate two-term clause from amendment approved by US Congress in 1947.

[ebk57]

13 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

Same deal with Medicare and Social security. Social security is going to go bankrupt around the time I'm set to retire.  Frankly, I think they are going to need to do some kind of means testing on it.  Does it suck that this would mean that an earned benefit is not paid out, yes.  But frankly, I'd rather forgo getting it than have the younger, still working generations have to shoulder supporting it with a smaller base than I had to do.

Maybe means testing would help.  But what would definitely help is abolishing the salary cap on paying into the system.  At the moment, if you make more than $168K, you don't pay into SS on your salary over that amount.  Everyone should pay in based on what they're earning.  

[Annber03]

5 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Not just outside of the US. I live in the state formed when we seceded from Virginia who was part of the Confederacy.  There are more Confederate flags flying here now than ever before.  I have seen people who have lived here their whole lives, who's families have lived here their whole lives argue it's part of their heritage.  Ignorant doesn't begin to describe what they are. 

I've heard about people flying Confederate flags up here in northern states. Y'know, the part of the country that fought the freaking Confederacy. 

Just. The stupid, it bbggles the mind. 

5 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

I think we should take this as a sign that karma is real, so don’t lose faith, guys! If Alex Jones can finally get his comeuppance, then maybe we aren’t all doomed after all!

I like this thought. This is a good thought. I will cling to this remiinder going forward. 

(Regarding Alex Jones, I am not a religious person by any stretch, but if hell exists...)

5 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Yep. My state overwhelmingly went for Trump.  All three times.

So did mine :(. I miss when Iowa wasn't a political embarrassment. 

Course, my state did also give the country Steve King, so, y'know, I feel like I need to apologize on our behalf for that idiot as well. 

[Absolom]

The rationale,valid or not, is twofold. First so that benefits can be capped and second the belief that the public would not accept uncapped payments into the system.

[Avaleigh]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also, he problem is who gets to tell us which words are offensive.

This is an interesting point. In figure skating, there was a push by a *tiny* few people to rename a couple of elements for the sake of DEI. One of these elements is a mohawk. A mohawk turn in skating is a simple move. For a right handed person you just stepforward on your right foot and turn so that you're then backward on your left foot. There isn't anything controversial about the move and I've yet to meet an Indigenous person who has felt "hurt" about figure skating moves in the field that have names like mohawk or choctaw. Nor were Indigenous people the ones behind the effort to get the names of these moves changed in the first place. 

When it first came up (when Skate Canada decided that they would be renaming the moves), the people I know who work in the sport generally laughed or had an eyeroll reaction because it came across like the silliest sort of virtue signaling. For decades these moves have had these names without controversy and then some people who are possibly feeling guilty about other issues regarding injustice and inclusivity, decide that these moves are part of the problem even though there wasn't much, if any, indication that anyone found these names to be offensive. To date, US Figure Skating hasn't decided to follow Canada by changing the names, and I suspect it's because there's no indication that people have been or are being hurt by them. 

I mention this because I think there are some people who are trying to force others into accepting that certain words are harmful when this isn't necessarily the case. I agree that it's natural for language to change and evolve. I also think there are positive changes that have successfully been integrated into every day dialogue. e.g. neurotypical instead of normal, neurodivergent instead of abnormal, etc. These sorts of changes make sense and in some cases were long overdue.

I don't care about pronouns and don't really see why they're such a hot button issue. I think people have the right to be called whatever they want to be called within reason. (By within reason, yeah, if your name has 20 letters or something you're probably going to get a nickname pdq from most people.)

I remember Brandeis University releasing a list (I think they took it down after a couple of years) about oppressive and ableist language that contained words people should no longer use. Some made sense and others were exactly the sort of silliness the left gets criticized for indulging too much. Words like picnic, wild, survivor, freshman, addict, etc. 

The unfair part is the way politicians get saddled with being associated with things that don't have anything to do with their campaigns. In the case of Harris, she was criticized over a document that used the term "birthing people" even though it's not a word that she uses and it's inaccurate to say that she's in any way trying to minimize or diminish the role of women. It's quite the opposite actually.