I think this is the best take really. She obviously lacks the typical qualifications and it’s no doubt that she got the job because of who she knows and not what she knows. But I really dislike when it’s framed like working at hooters and bikini modelling is something bad, shameful or vapid. It’s a job like any other and in this particular scenario it means she has hands on experience dealing with pervs, weirdos and people stuck in a time before women’s suffrage. She might very well be a very effective leader of this bunch…

Ah, so he’s not smart enough to understand how a progressive tax system works. At least he’s in good company seeing as that’s the norm if my lunch room discussions at work are any indication.

And no helm(et) or lifejacket in sight… Looks like a spectacularly dumb way to die given all the jagged rocks.

You’re being downvoted here because you set the goalpost as “Biden shouldn’t sign this pro-Israel, anti-palestine budget because he’ll lose the election” when that is refuted you then move it to “Biden wants to sign this budget, you’re dumb if you think he’s reluctant”. I don’t think he’s reluctant, but not because he today wants to block aid to UNRWA, because he as a life long career politician knows there’s no such thing as a bill you support 100% if you reach 51% that’s good enough.

All three, House, Senate and President, need to agree to the same budget. As Republicans control (on paper) everything but the presidency it’s not like Biden has true agency. If he grandstands on the UNRWA funding here the shutdown that would follow would be squarely on Biden. Thousands of American government employees wouldn’t be paid and people relying on the federal government for aid and support would be out in the cold.

The fact of the matter is that the average American voter care more about the US doing well and everything working than they do about Palestine in general and the UNRWA funding specifically.

With escrow its completely pointless as you say to not pay it yourself. So I have to assume it’s the terms for when it’s not to be put in escrow.

It’s more you need to prove you have $1 billion for us to put up this $500 million because we don’t trust you to not spend a $500 million collateral on hamberders, hush money and legal fees.

Gotta love republicans “the spend and print regime” was bi-partisan and, importantly, initiated under Trump. Further they’ve continuously held control of the Senate while Biden has been in power and the house since 2022.

Finally the Affordable Care Act was a republican bill that Obama compromised on instead of the Democratic proposal, to get some improvements through. It’s always amusing when Republicans now shit all over it…

Windows can’t be Christianity, it’s not fragmented enough. It’s either Scientology because it’s tightly controlled and without meaningful denominations. Or Buddhism from a very western point of view (i.e. oblivious to the denominations and local variations).

I think this follows in most nations that the less you have the more likely you are to lean towards the left side of you nations political spectrum. And the more you have the more likely you lean towards the right side. Home ownership is one part of that, a fairly big part given the state of home pricing these days.

Really it’s always been about the class struggle, of the have nots vs the haves, rich vs poor, bourgeois vs proletariat, whatever you want to call it. The US has just done a “better” job of muddying the waters and suffocating organized class warfare.

Mainly by instilling that you’re not really poor because you’re within reach of being a millionaire. The American dream. (Which you need to be asleep to believe in as Carlin put it.).

Though I’m not really holding my breath on people actually waking up to this reality and actually doing something about it. The Circus seems to suffice in the US, and any struggle and violence is directed between marginalized groups. People in declining rural areas “fighting” people from the worst parts of the cities. Middle class suburbians opposing the choices of other middle class suburbians that just want freedom of expression but that somehow limits the first group in ways they can’t even articulate when asked. It’s madness.

My money is on this stalling being so the Truth Social merger goes through and he can loan against his stake there, that or sell shares. The preliminary valuation puts Trumps part of the post-merger company at up to $4 billion, which is absurd but also he does have an extremely specific demographic completely captured over there. It’s marketing gold for unscrupulous companies and niche stuff that won’t ever sell to city Dems, like truck nuts and tacticool gear.

He’s such a shit stirrer, the first guy to start chanting “fight fight fight” when ever two people start arguing in public.

No the joke is that this is that sassy but supporting friend saying it. It’s a reality check and an opportunity to ask for help from the friend saying it.

So in a roundabout way the Butler did it? Sounds like a cliche whodunnit…

Why wouldn’t he? BYD and other cheap BEVs from China directly threaten American jobs, and not the poorly paying kinds either. I see no rational reason why an American president wouldn’t do everything in his power to protect American interests.

And for the environment I don’t really think BEVs in the shape of cars is the solution. Scooters and small motorcycles outnumber cars by far and is growing faster as well, while each individual vehicle pollute far less the sheer volume is a problem and the air quality problem they contribute to is massive. Those and trucks I feel are the important vehicles to focus on, for the environment. But it’s far easier of course to market and sell cars to high income individuals, in areas with the infrastructure necessary to support electric cars.

Damn, Cracked was a loooooooong time ago. This article was hardly new but still long after their heyday. And his other stuff was almost the same mix of thought provoking and hilarious that the old articles provided, if a bit more of column A and a bit less of column B.

I’d argue a presidential primary is also well to late. And for a primary to matter you need candidates that actually want to challenge the presumptive choice in the incumbent president. If no alternatives exist there’s no point in vasting money on a primary.

Sure, and I have no interest in defending any positions of his that I oppose. But as you say this autumn it isn’t about what I want in a politician (and you’d be hard pressed to ever find someone you agree with on every policy) it’s about Trump or Biden. Democrats or Republicans in Congress. It’s a shitty choice, but solving that is about voting for replacements in primaries and if none exist then actually putting your name in or pushing someone you think is suited into that track. It’s about actually getting involved in democracy and not just leave it to the rich and powerful. Come election day the choice is A or B. If you want C then sorry bud but you missed the window to get C on the ballot or C isn’t nearly as popular as you think.

No that is clearly his politics. He has always been a staunch supporter of Israel. I don’t particularly like that but it’s not out of character for him.

I meant in the private sense. He wouldn’t pull a favor for a relative when that favor would be questionable not only ethically but legally, it’s just not worth it if you’re angling for the higher echelons of political power.

I’m basically serially online and I have literally never seen anyone defending Hunter Biden. All I’ve seen is disbelief that Joe Biden would in anyway be involved in Hunters missteps and potential crimes.

Joe has been a politician for like half a century. He knows better than to in anyway associate with shit that can and will bite him in the ass politically. That said literally no one is squeaky clean, everyone at least parks unsafely or drives to fast or similar misdemeanors at least a few times at the bare minimum. I’m sure Joe has done quite a few questionable things but something blatantly criminal? Unlikely but if there is some actual evidence I would join in with the notion that he pays for his crimes like everybody else should.