#and the government is too worried about the economy to protect people

[i-drop-level-one-loot]

hii I JUST LOVE YOUR WORK i stay and read them every day tbh, it's my first time requesting so I'm a lil nervous (also english isn't my first language so if i write too tangled things don't mind please) yandere disease has been corrupting my mind lately like this disease has taken over the world and now people are divided in two types: yanderes and darlings. Every darling is forced to stay with their yanderes by their parents and government when they turn 20 , like goverment has been taking care of yanderes too much, there's territories and special occasions where yanderes can meet darlings, if darling tries to escape people are just gonna drag them to their "soulmate" otherwise they think darling are too weak and fragile to protect themselves.

If you're too busy, just ignore this. I also know how hard it is to write. Hope you're doing good💗💗

Your English is perfect ❤️ better than some native speakers' ❤️ I'm sorry this took so long, I hope you enjoy!!

Yandere!Fiance x GN!Reader

There were conspiracy theories as to how it happened.

Populations around the globe had declined dramatically, worrying nearly every country in every continent. The most popular theory online was that to combat the rapidly declining birth rate, one (or more) of the suffering countries conspired to create a new kind of biological warfare; an illness directed at their own people to foster relations. Unfortunately, while half of people were naturally immune to the attack, the other half were affected too much.

It was just a theory. Nothing could be proved. No government wanted to get to the bottom of the "attack" because their economies were booming; who would want to rid people of an illness that drove the rate of divorce to an all time low? It didn't matter if there were a few hiccups along the way.. As long as people were pushing out more babies, governments across the planet were more than happy to just create new laws to keep the death rates minimal ensure happiness amongst couples.

(Reader) prayed on their knees like fanatic, begging any God that may be listening, for years that they could be one of the Lovers instead of a Darling. They were terrified of the idea of becoming someone's Darling; becoming a prisoner to a loving murderer. No matter how perfect each family unit seemed to be, the young adult could see it in their father's eyes, the longing for the outside world, away from their mother. The suffocating love their mother drowned him in; the almost unnoticeable quiver to his smile.. (Reader) wished upon every single star in the sky that they could fall madly in love with someone, just so they didn't have to live through the rose tinted hell their father did.

But every crush they had was normal, none of the guys they thought were cute in highschool awakened some kind instinct in them. Eventually (Reader) turned 19 years old, and found out that they were engaged.

"To who??" (Reader) nearly barfed onto the dinner table. Their parents sat across from them, smiling happily from the good news they had just delivered to their child.

"He went to the same elementary school as you! Isn't that romantic?" Their mother cooed, poking her husband while doing so. "Apparently he's known since forever that you two are soul mates, but he's been too shy until recently to approach the Family Planning Bureau about his feelings~"

(Reader) gripped their thighs under the table while their eyes stung from the blossoming tears. ".. Do I have to meet him?" They asked quietly.

Although the building was painted bright blue and was surrounded by a beautiful, flowery landscape, it felt like a prison with it's tall chain link fencing.

The sorrowful expression on their father's sympathetic face burned into their retina so painfully, that every time they blinked while on the bus to their first meeting with their "fiance" they could still see it. He knew just as well as (Reader) did that there was no escape.

Even the walk towards a private meeting room past other Darlings felt like a death march. (Reader) could only hope that the "electric chair" wouldn't be too painful.

The kind guard opened a door, and a young man they did not recognize sitting inside immediately stood up, his face bright red.

His freckled and bespectacled face was almost hidden by his wavy, unbrushed hair. A smile stretched sweetly across his round cheeks, and (Reader) noticed that his blush went down his neck. "Ah- (Reader)! It's nice to- it's nice to meet you!"

It didn't matter that he was incredibly adorable: (Reader) was determined not to let their guard down.

"You said we went to elementary school together?"

"Yes-"

"-I'm sorry, but I don't remember you." They interrupted him, curt and to the point.

Instead of looking offended, his eyes softened and his smile became (somehow) warmer. "I'm sorry." He motioned to a seat near the table he was just sitting at. "I can explain everything.. if you give me a chance."

Reluctantly, (Reader) sat across from him. It was hard to deny that he was attractive, really being their ideal man, but they continuously bit the inside of their cheek to prevent themselves from feeling any sort of positive emotion. They knew better than to fall into this trap.

"My name is Anthony." His freckles almost disappeared entirely under his blush. "I'm sorry I never had the confidence to approach you.."

"Huh?" The confused teen forgot to hold their tongue. "Isn't it, like, frowned upon to talk to your Darling before registering with the bureau?"

Anthony rubbed his hands together nervously. "I - I really didn't want you to meet me this way.." He sucked in air between his teeth, looking faint. "I.. Do you believe in true love?"

A pang shot through (Reader's) heart. They remembered every time they would chase a crush, yearning for something true and genuine. Reading love stories from the days before the bureau, and wondering if that was what love was really like once upon a time. "No."

He sighed sadly. "I believe.. or at least, I want to believe in true love." Anthony sat straighter, staring into (Reader's) eyes with a shaky confidence. "I should have asked you out when I first met you in the fifth grade. I'm sorry I was too nervous to talk to you back then."

Vibrating adrenaline shook their system as they tried to make sense of what this stranger was saying.

"I wanted to ask you out, and take you on dates, and get to know you like in the old days."

"Why didn't you?"

His head fell slightly, obscuring his face entirely. "I thought that my feelings for you weren't strong enough.."

(Reader) suddenly felt as though they were connected with Anthony on a spiritual level; as though he was the only person in the whole world to understand them. The need for love, conflicting with the fear of not being a Lover, being destined to be labeled as a Darling. "Are you.." (Reader) dropped their voice to a whisper, "are you a lover?"

Sorrow filled Anthony's figure. Shoulders slumped, and back shuddering under his uneven, heavy breaths. "Would you report me if I wasn't?"

It was as if God had finally answered (Reader's) prayers. Their heart was racing; their head felt lighter than a cloud. Stuttering over their words, the young adult had to avert their gaze. "I don't remember you.. but I wouldn't mind getting to know you." Even though they didn't love him, Anthony felt like their one and only chance to fall in love naturally. To not be trapped like their father.

"Then.. I can see you again?"

(Reader) smiled. "Yeah.."

....

The second (Reader) left the room, Anthony's head hit the table with a loud bang.

It felt like he was going to vomit with how excited he was, and he couldn't contain his giggles any longer. Being in the same room as his childhood love was almost too much for him, and he almost ruined everything.

Anthony had worked so hard to make (Reader) love him.

He knew they liked shy, nerdy types, so he morphed into that. Destroying his eye sight so he could wear glasses, growing out his hair so he could always look slightly dishevelled, biting his tongue until it bled to force himself to stay in character.

Tears pooled around his nose on the table. He was smarter than the Lovers that made his precious (Reader) scared to be a Darling.

"I'm so happy..~" Anthony sobbed loudly in the empty room. "Please fall in love with me quickly~ Although, I don't mind waiting on you forever.. I want you to love me now..!"

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Guy Parsons

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 17, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 18, 2024

In a new rule released yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to make it as easy to cancel a subscription to a gym or a service as it is to sign up for one. In a statement, FTC chair Lina Khan explained the reasoning behind the “click-to-cancel” rule: “Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” she said. “Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.” Although most of the new requirements won’t take effect for about six months, David Dayen of The American Prospect noted that the stock price of Planet Fitness fell 8% after the announcement. 

When he took office in January 2021, with democracy under siege from autocratic governments abroad and an authoritarian movement at home, President Joe Biden set out to prove that democracy could deliver for the ordinary people who had lost faith in it. The click-to-cancel rule is an illustration of an obvious and long-overdue protection, but it is only one of many ways—$35 insulin, new bridges, loan forgiveness, higher wages, good jobs—in which policies designed to benefit ordinary people have demonstrated that a democratic government can improve lives.

When Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, she noted that the administration “has driven a historic economic recovery” with strong growth, very low unemployment rates, and inflation returning to normal. Now it is focused on lowering costs for families and expanding the economy while reducing inequality. That strong economy at home is helping to power the global economy, Yellen noted, and the U.S. has been working to strengthen that economy by reinforcing global policies, investments, and institutions that reinforce economic stability. 

“Over the past four years, the world has been through a lot,” Yellen said, “from a once-in-a-century pandemic, to the largest land war in Europe since World War II, to increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters. This has only underlined that we are all in it together. America’s economic well-being depends on the world’s, and America’s economic leadership is key to global prosperity and security.” She warned against isolationism that would undermine such prosperity both at home and abroad.

The numbers behind the proven experience that government protection of ordinary people is good for economic growth got the blessing of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday, when it awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to James Robinson of the University of Chicago. Their research explains why “[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,” while democracies do.   

Although democracy has been delivering for Americans, Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself. 

Trump wants to get rid of the current government so that he can enrich himself, do whatever he wants to his enemies, and avoid answering to the law. The Christian nationalists who wrote Project 2025 want to destroy the federal government so they can put in place an authoritarian who will force Americans to live under religious rule. Tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel want to get rid of the federal government so they can control the future without having to worry about regulations. 

In place of what they insist is a democratic system that has failed, they are offering a strongman who, they claim, will take care of people more efficiently than a democratic government can. The focus on masculinity and portrayals of Trump as a muscled hero‚ much as Russian president Vladimir Putin portrays himself, fit the mold of an authoritarian leader.

But the argument that Americans need a strongman depends on the argument that democracy does not work. In the last three-and-a-half years, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Democrats have proved that it can, so long as it operates with the best interests of ordinary people in mind. Trump and Vance’s outlandish lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene are designed to override the reality of a competent administration addressing a crisis with all the tools it has. In its place, the lies provide a false narrative of federal officials ignoring people and trying to steal their property.  

Their attack on democracy has another problem, as well. In addition to the reality that democracy has been delivering for Americans for more than three years now—and pretty dramatically—Trump is no longer a strongman. Vice President Kamala Harris is outperforming  him in the theater of political dominance. And as she does so, his image is crumbling.

In an article in US News and World Report yesterday, NBC’s former chief marketer John D. Miller apologized to America for helping to “create a monster.” Miller led the team that marketed The Apprentice, the reality TV show that made Trump a household name. “To sell the show,” Miller wrote, “we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty.” But the truth was that he declared bankruptcy six times, and “[t]he imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV,” Miller wrote. While Trump loved the attention the show provided, “more successful CEOs were too busy to get involved in reality TV.” 

Miller says they “promoted the show relentlessly,” blanketing the country with a “highly exaggerated” image of Trump as a successful businessman “like a heavy snowstorm.” “[W]e…did irreparable harm by creating the false image of Trump as a successful leader,” Miller wrote. “I deeply regret that. And I regret that it has taken me so long to go public.” 

Speaking as a “born-and-bred Republican,” Miller warned: “If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like The Apprentice was.” He strongly urged people to vote for Kamala Harris. “The country will be better off and so will you.” 

A new video shown last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live even more powerfully illustrated the collapse of Trump’s tough guy image. Written by Jesse Joyce of Comedy Central, the two-minute video featured actor and retired professional wrestler Dave Bautista dominating his sparring partner in a boxing ring and then telling those who think Trump is “some sort of tough guy” that “he’s not.” 

Working out in a gym, Bautista insults Trump’s heavy makeup, out-of-shape body, draft dodging, and physical weakness, and notes that “he sells imaginary baseball cards pretending to be a cowboy fireman” when “he’s barely strong enough to hold an umbrella.” Bautista says Trump’s two-handed method of drinking water looks “like a little pink chickadee,” and goes on to make a raunchy observation about Trump’s stage dancing. “He’s moody, he pouts, he throws tantrums,” Bautista goes on. “He’s cattier on social media than a middle-school mean girl.”

Bautista ends by listing Trump’s fears of rain, dogs, windmills…and being laughed at.” “And mostly,” Bautista concludes, “he’s terrified that real, red-blooded American men will find out that he’s a weak, tubby toddler.” Calling Trump a “whiny b*tch,” Bautista walks away from the camera. 

The sketch was billed as comedy, but it was deadly serious in its takedown of the key element of Trump’s political power.

And he seems vulnerable. Forbes and Newsweek have recently questioned his mental health; yesterday the Boston Globe ran an op-ed saying, “Trump’s decline is too dangerous to ignore. We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.” 

Trump’s Fox News Channel town hall yesterday got 2.9 million viewers; Harris’s interview got 7.1 million. Today, Trump canceled yet another appearance, this one with the National Rifle Association in Savannah, Georgia, scheduled for October 22, where he was supposed to be the keynote speaker.

Meanwhile, Vice President Harris today held rallies in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. In La Crosse, MAGA hecklers tried to interrupt her while she was speaking about the centrality of the three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices to the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” Harris called to them with a smile and a wave. As the crowd roared with approval, she added: “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[vintageseawitch]

fascist billionaires are complete morons. evil, morally bankrupt, & terrible as well of course, but most of all morons.

they want their American tax breaks SO BAD that they're willing to destroy America for it. between trump's absurd tariff "plan" which will cost American consumers more, the "deportation" of over 10 million people which will cost American money to do which will turn into "sending people to concentrator camps" instead so they get that precious free labor they dearly wanted without having to do that silly thing called "treat your workers like human beings" & many businesses & jobs will be lost so the cost of groceries that are awful now will be IMPOSSIBLE so people will starve & start going homeless because workers protections will disappear & they have no plans to make it so the cost of living is affordable on one income per government forced family so people will start not being able to pay for rent or their mortgage so that's MORE prisoners for free labor, abortion & contraception will be banned so women will suffer & die but don't worry they're just expendable incubators but after that state sanctioned forced baby is born TOO FUCKING BAD YOU'RE NOT GETTING ANY HELP, they intend to make climate change worse, & so on.

all of this & more is going to tank the economy of the USA. this is not just counting our position as a world superpower; make no mistake, a second trump presidency is promising a world of fear & uncertainty where no one will be free. the American dollar will become worthless so what good will American billionaire money be? millions are going to suffer & die. they don't care about that i know but they won't be getting sky high profits for very long.

eat the rich.

[tyote]

since politics has been on my (and probably everyone's) brain a lot lately i took a shit-ton of political compass tests and averaged them all together, then fed them to a LLM (running locally) to specifically create a profile of people i probably wouldn't get along with politically, lmao.

and wouldn't ya know, me being true neutral once again means many people (at least on the internet) would probably not like me too much, ha

full report of my nemeses under the cut, 'cause it's thorough

"Tyler, with his unique blend of political philosophies, would likely find himself at odds with individuals who hold extreme or uncompromising views. Here's how he might view these perspectives:

Far-Left Extremists: Tyler respects the desire for equality and fairness that drives many on the far left. However, he believes that radical socialism or communism often overlooks the importance of personal property and small businesses, which he sees as vital for a healthy economy. In Tyler's view, these extreme ideologies can lead to the concentration of power in the hands of the state, stifling individual initiative and innovation. He worries that such systems can result in economic inefficiency, a lack of personal freedom, and even oppression, ultimately harming the very people they aim to help. Tyler sees these systems as potentially leading to authoritarianism under the guise of equality.

Far-Right Extremists: While Tyler understands the importance of national identity and community values, he strongly opposes the exclusionary and xenophobic policies promoted by far-right nationalists or supremacists. Despite his nativist tendencies, Tyler believes that a thriving society benefits from a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints. He sees extreme nationalism as a dangerous ideology that fosters division, hatred, and violence. Tyler's brand of nativism is about valuing community heritage and ensuring that immigration policies are compassionate, economically viable, and practical, balancing the nation's capacity to accept immigrants with the need for a straightforward, fair, and legal process.

Authoritarians: Tyler appreciates the need for strong leadership, but he firmly believes that power should be distributed and checked to prevent abuse. He opposes authoritarian figures like Joseph Stalin or Pol Pot because they centralize power and suppress individual freedoms, which contradicts his commitment to representative democracy and the rule of law. Tyler believes that a healthy democracy requires transparency, accountability, and the active participation of its citizens to prevent the rise of tyranny. He sees checks and balances as essential to safeguarding freedom and justice. Authoritarian regimes, in his view, are oppressive and detrimental to human rights.

Libertarian Extremists: Tyler recognizes the appeal of minimal government intervention and personal freedom championed by extreme libertarians. However, he believes that a completely laissez-faire approach can lead to economic inequality and social disparity. Tyler supports a balanced economic system that combines individual freedom with ethical principles and community responsibility. He thinks that some level of regulation is necessary to protect the vulnerable and ensure that everyone has a fair chance to succeed. In his view, a mix of personal liberty and social welfare creates a more equitable and just society.

Populists: Tyler understands the frustration that drives populist movements and the desire for change. However, he is wary of leaders who use divisive rhetoric and offer simplistic solutions to complex problems. Figures like Bernie Sanders and Hugo Chavez, who appeal to broad, sweeping changes, might clash with Tyler's centrist and pragmatic approach. Tyler believes that effective governance requires nuanced policies and thoughtful deliberation, rather than quick fixes and polarizing tactics. He values evidence-based decision-making over populist promises. Populist leaders, in his view, often exploit people's emotions and fears for political gain, leading to instability and poor governance.

In essence, Tyler values moderation, a variety of backgrounds and viewpoints, and ethical governance. He believes that extreme, uncompromising, or authoritarian views, regardless of their position on the political spectrum, often fail to address the complexities of society in a balanced and fair manner."

[hasufin]

Any delay

I want to share what I just wrote to my Senators and representative:

Dear Senator,     It has been a dire week for America. Much has been said of specific actions of the current POTUS, but truly we must look at the overall pattern. While the terms “fascist” and “nazi” are bandied about perhaps too casually, they may be appropriate here. What we can say of a certainty is that an autocratic government is being set up.     The general public is, not without cause, concerned about the targeting of minority and disadvantaged groups. The ICE raids occur under the color of law, but military deportation flights are not only wholly unnecessary and legally dubious, they are antagonistic to other countries and in some cases legally amount to invasions. Repealing protections for trans people, removing efforts to prevent discrimination are even more worrying: they express a clear intent to engage in systematic discrimination and worse.     Yet even more concerning right now are the ideological purges of the Federal government. Good, hardworking civil servants are being forced out, and at the behest of unelected persons whose loyalties are clearly not to the USA – but who seem to be loyal to dangerous rightwing ideologies and hostile governments. This of course cripples our government and compromises our security. From a practical perspective it will harm the economy in general, and the mid-Atlantic region in particular: even their own propaganda claims that these changes will cause a “regional” depression; we can rightly conclude that the current administration is downplaying even their own comparatively rosy prognostications. In other words, they are going to devastate the economy and they know it.     And yet, this is not the worst. We must realize that one does not engage in such ideological purges without a reason. The goal is to remove any possible opposition to the administration’s agenda – even when that agenda stands in direct opposition to justice and the law. The civil service has long been filled with apolitical, dedicated and loyal people who serve the country – regardless of the political party in power. There is no legal, patriotic reason to remove such people. Indeed, this serves as a bellwether: the only reason to accomplish these acts is with a clear intent to engage in massively illegal, unpatriotic, unjust, and frankly horrifying actions – on a scale such that the entire civil service must be structured to allow and support them. The implications are, frankly, horrifying.     Today, Democrats will be remembered as having slow walked anything which might have prevented this circumstance. As lacking a spine, as being criminally out of touch not only with the American people but also absolutely delusional in their insistence on “business as usual” when that was clearly impossible. The milquetoast approach has allowed our current circumstance. We cannot walk that back today.     Nonetheless, it is better to act now and at least slow down our sprint into authoritarianism. I ask that you use every option at your disposal to impede this dangerous agenda. There is no procedural trick, no unfair maneuver, no ploy or delaying tactic which is unjustified. Every moment in which this takeover is delayed buy another moment in the lives of vulnerable Americans, and another moment in which America survives. I am begging you to show a spine. I am begging you and your fellow members of Congress – including whatever Republicans might be uncomfortable with these moves and their conclusion, to find common cause and save this Great Experiment. It may yet be too late – but if so, would you rather be remembered for trying, or for folding your hands and giving up?

I don't know that it will be enough. I'm hoping maybe it might nudge them toward having a bit of a backbone. We're in 1938 Germany here. And I don't think we can stop it - but I'm serious: every delay now is another life extended, another moment the country survives. The current purges of the Federal workforce are happening for a reason: the people being removed are the most studiously apolitical, loyal people you could hope for. I don't know the regime's specific plans, but the clear intent is to populate the government entirely with people who will not object to any atrocity.

[yourreddancer]

Heather Cox Richardson 10.17.24

In a new rule released yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to make it as easy to cancel a subscription to a gym or a service as it is to sign up for one. In a statement, FTC chair Lina Khan explained the reasoning behind the “click-to-cancel” rule: “Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” she said. “Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.” Although most of the new requirements won’t take effect for about six months, David Dayen of The American Prospect noted that the stock price of Planet Fitness fell 8% after the announcement. 

When he took office in January 2021, with democracy under siege from autocratic governments abroad and an authoritarian movement at home, President Joe Biden set out to prove that democracy could deliver for the ordinary people who had lost faith in it. The click-to-cancel rule is an illustration of an obvious and long-overdue protection, but it is only one of many ways—$35 insulin, new bridges, loan forgiveness, higher wages, good jobs—in which policies designed to benefit ordinary people have demonstrated that a democratic government can improve lives.

When Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, she noted that the administration “has driven a historic economic recovery” with strong growth, very low unemployment rates, and inflation returning to normal. Now it is focused on lowering costs for families and expanding the economy while reducing inequality. That strong economy at home is helping to power the global economy, Yellen noted, and the U.S. has been working to strengthen that economy by reinforcing global policies, investments, and institutions that reinforce economic stability. 

“Over the past four years, the world has been through a lot,” Yellen said, “from a once-in-a-century pandemic, to the largest land war in Europe since World War II, to increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters. This has only underlined that we are all in it together. America’s economic well-being depends on the world’s, and America’s economic leadership is key to global prosperity and security.” She warned against isolationism that would undermine such prosperity both at home and abroad.

The numbers behind the proven experience that government protection of ordinary people is good for economic growth got the blessing of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday, when it awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to James Robinson of the University of Chicago. Their research explains why “[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,” while democracies do.   

Although democracy has been delivering for Americans, Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself. 

Trump wants to get rid of the current government so that he can enrich himself, do whatever he wants to his enemies, and avoid answering to the law. The Christian nationalists who wrote Project 2025 want to destroy the federal government so they can put in place an authoritarian who will force Americans to live under religious rule. Tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel want to get rid of the federal government so they can control the future without having to worry about regulations. 

In place of what they insist is a democratic system that has failed, they are offering a strongman who, they claim, will take care of people more efficiently than a democratic government can. The focus on masculinity and portrayals of Trump as a muscled hero‚ much as Russian president Vladimir Putin portrays himself, fit the mold of an authoritarian leader.

(NOTE - WHAT a fucking JOKE!!)

But the argument that Americans need a strongman depends on the argument that democracy does not work. In the last three-and-a-half years, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Democrats have proved that it can, so long as it operates with the best interests of ordinary people in mind.

Trump and Vance’s outlandish lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene are designed to override the reality of a competent administration addressing a crisis with all the tools it has. In its place, the lies provide a false narrative of federal officials ignoring people and trying to steal their property.  

Their attack on democracy has another problem, as well. In addition to the reality that democracy has been delivering for Americans for more than three years now—and pretty dramatically—Trump is no longer a strongman. Vice President Kamala Harris is outperforming  him in the theater of political dominance. And as she does so, his image is crumbling.

In an article in US News and World Report yesterday, NBC’s former chief marketer John D. Miller apologized to America for helping to “create a monster.” Miller led the team that marketed The Apprentice, the reality TV show that made Trump a household name. “To sell the show,” Miller wrote, “we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty.” But the truth was that he declared bankruptcy six times, and “[t]he imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV,” Miller wrote. While Trump loved the attention the show provided, “more successful CEOs were too busy to get involved in reality TV.” 

Miller says they “promoted the show relentlessly,” blanketing the country with a “highly exaggerated” image of Trump as a successful businessman “like a heavy snowstorm.” “[W]e…did irreparable harm by creating the false image of Trump as a successful leader,” Miller wrote. “I deeply regret that. And I regret that it has taken me so long to go public.” 

Speaking as a “born-and-bred Republican,” Miller warned: “If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like The Apprentice was.” He strongly urged people to vote for Kamala Harris. “The country will be better off and so will you.” 

A new video shown last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live even more powerfully illustrated the collapse of Trump’s tough guy image. Written by Jesse Joyce of Comedy Central, the two-minute video featured actor and retired professional wrestler Dave Bautista dominating his sparring partner in a boxing ring and then telling those who think Trump is “some sort of tough guy” that “he’s not.” 

Working out in a gym, Bautista insults Trump’s heavy makeup, out-of-shape body, draft dodging, and physical weakness, and notes that “he sells imaginary baseball cards pretending to be a cowboy fireman” when “he’s barely strong enough to hold an umbrella.” Bautista says Trump’s two-handed method of drinking water looks “like a little pink chickadee,” and goes on to make a raunchy observation about Trump’s stage dancing. “He’s moody, he pouts, he throws tantrums,” Bautista goes on. “He’s cattier on social media than a middle-school mean girl.”

Bautista ends by listing Trump’s fears of rain, dogs, windmills…and being laughed at.” “And mostly,” Bautista concludes, “he’s terrified that real, red-blooded American men will find out that he’s a weak, tubby toddler.” Calling Trump a “whiny b*tch,” Bautista walks away from the camera. 

The sketch was billed as comedy, but it was deadly serious in its takedown of the key element of Trump’s political power.

And he seems vulnerable. Forbes and Newsweek have recently questioned his mental health; yesterday the Boston Globe ran an op-ed saying, “Trump’s decline is too dangerous to ignore. We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.” 

Trump’s Fox News Channel town hall yesterday got 2.9 million viewers; Harris’s interview got 7.1 million. Today, Trump canceled yet another appearance, this one with the National Rifle Association in Savannah, Georgia, scheduled for October 22, where he was supposed to be the keynote speaker.

Meanwhile, Vice President Harris today held rallies in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. In La Crosse, MAGA hecklers tried to interrupt her while she was speaking about the centrality of the three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices to the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” Harris called to them with a smile and a wave. As the crowd roared with approval, she added: “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” 

[bulletsandbracelets]

Slaughter places are different, as someone who comes from a small community where that is a huge staple of our jobs. The meat packing plants usually have unionization and higher hourly pay than other industries because the work is pretty rough. I have classmates who went into this work and working on the kill floor is especially grueling.

A lot of immigrants do come and work these jobs too, but I think more so because immigrants are more interested in coming to a place solely for the chance to do a job and send money back, or think of a place as a temporary location. My hometown is small and while I love it, there’s not a lot of opportunities to get out of that work in order to do something preferable. So not many people are going to relocate their lives there in order to work in that type of job long-term. People born and raised here have a mindset of wanting to find something, or at least a location, more permanent.

Maybe we were the exception, but I don’t see the same kind of abuse that actual labor-intensive farming tends to have. It also depends on the crops. Farm work is seasonal, I used to de-tassle and pollinate corn in the summer and I would make quite a bit over the course of a month only to be done when the month was over. That’s completely fine for a high schooler looking for extra cash, but when it’s mostly short bursts of hard work, there’s no long term financial stability there. (A lot of farms also take advantage of free labor from their family members, especially children, and I’ve known a lot of farmers who treated their kids pretty horribly as a result. Enough that it’s a pretty clear trend, even on farms that don’t have enough work to require immigrant labor.)

TLDR; I legitimately think that universal income would solve a lot of this. It would allow people to choose where they live based on the people and environment they want to be around vs purely the economic opportunities. It would also allow people to do more temporary and seasonal work without constantly needing to worry about resumes, or work history, or a consistent paycheck coming in.

Protections need to happen too, absolutely! But the problems run deeper than that. Agricultural work is not sustainable in a capitalistic economy, not any more than rural hospitals. That is why so many farms rely so heavily on government subsidies in order to survive. The work is variable, extremely dependent on outside factors, and inconsistent season by season on what kind of (and how much) labor is necessary. That variability is also how those exceptions are justified. If farms were required to pay what people deserve, they would be bankrupted. People need food to live - we cannot just increase food prices exponentially to cover the difference.

Usually the most important jobs need to have the lowest monetary value so that everyone can access the things they produce. The market is never going to be able to account for this. The more fair the pay is, the less fair society is, unless we fix something pretty fundamental.

kill the rhetoric that americans are so lazy that they won't take farm jobs. americans take labor intensive jobs all the time. the reason no americans will take farm jobs is because agricultural work is exempt from the vast majority of labor laws and labor protections, including the use of child labor. so only immigrants - people who have little to no protection from the law or other options for work - take most of these jobs. we have created a permanent underclass of labor and then say that americans are just lazy for not volunteering to be part of the underclass.

there are actually good discussions to be had about how alienated many americans are from food production (hi hello that's what my only popular post is about), but the real solution to this problem is to protect agricultural workers, citizens or not. ban child labor in its entirety. punish corporations and farm owners that abuse and poison their workers. reform the immigration process so that these people aren't barred from legal protection and recourse.

agricultural workers have been exploited since the dawn of civilization, but the US in specific has been doing this since slavery, and it evolved in the 30s when FDR's labor laws excluded them specifically because most agricultural workers at the time were black. now it's mostly latino immigrants.

food doesn't fucking pick or slaughter itself. but citizens aren't going to take these jobs when the entire industry is rife with abuse - both legal and illegal - and horrific wages and working conditions.

[gaeilmeta]

Poly Poly Oxen Free

Dissociation is a disconnection between a person's emotions, behaviors, perceptions, and/or sense of self. This disconnection is out of the person's control. It's often described as an extracorporeal experience. The current "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5) identifies the first of three types of dissociation as:

Depersonalization-derealization disorder - Persistent or recurring episodes of depersonalization, derealization, or both. It's often described as observing one’s self from afar, and a direct reaction to significant trauma. Most researchers view dissociation as a protective response to trauma. It allows people to function and go about day-to-day activities by blocking trauma related emotions and memories that are otherwise overwhelming.

With zero law enforcement encounters, other than a few speeding violations, being Mirandized for the first time was nothing short of surreal. Having it done just before getting into a government vehicle with two state police detectives who were transporting me to a polygraph exam where I’d be asked about my involvement in the hideous murder of my lover made it exquisitely transcendental as well. It is phenomenal how a dire situation can pique adrenal glands to create a clarity of mind that’s nothing short of piercing. Epinephrine is unquestionably a mighty hormone and was the single arbiter over the previous few weeks that allowed me to exhibit any pretense of normal human behavior. At the jump, Epi wrapped a steadying arm around my shoulder saying, “Don’t worry, zone out, do whatever you need to do, I’ve got this.” From then on Epi was in charge while I settled into a seat somewhere in the upper deck bleachers.

Inspector Dulles assumed an officious co-pilot position with Lunk relegated to driver. I think Lunk’s name was Luke or Liam or something like that, but I identified him as Lunk because he was a lunkhead through and through. He had blazing red hair, a pasty white, feverishly freckled complexion and I guessed stood about six-six. Consequently, without warning the front bench seat of the car got shoved back with maximum fury as far as it would go. Sitting in the rear, my knees were forcibly jammed into my chest. It was a typical Lunk move. 

Lunk was the kind of big man who liked to throw around his two hundred and fifty pounds or more. He would deliberately insinuate himself into the path of an oncoming walker so as to force a sidestep. More than once, I saw him body brush individuals, knocking them off balance and then turn to disingenuously apologize as though it had been accidental. Another time during my relatively brief exposures, I witnessed Lunk “half-sit” a detainee on a bench, dropped his whole weight so hard on the guy’s hip they debated the possible need to have the victim checked at an emergency room. An authentic undulating asshole, that Lunk. This was the brainiac too who, first day back at the apartment, strenuously argued in favor of booking me, citing one two-millimeter dot of blood on my boot. Didn’t want to give it up either until the inspector finally held up his palm and quelled him with, “Enough!”

Inspector Dulles was a short plump, graying fifty-something. He generally wore a long-suffering expression that seemed to suggest a degree of boredom very much in danger of lapsing into a nap. In contrast to the members of the homicide squad he supervised, the Inspector, fortunately, demonstrated a modicum of professionalism and was likely the single authority standing between me and a jail cell. Previous exchanges between the two of us had been demonstrations in the economy of language, but today he surprisingly assumed a manner that for him, I’d have to say, was positively chatty. The Super Bowl had been played the day before and he made it the topic of discussion. Lunk jumped right in with both of them inviting my involvement. These two, up until then being strident inquisitors, were suddenly my best friends. The ploy was embarrassingly transparent, but Epi clasped a stiff hand over my mouth before I could reflexively blurt, “You’ve gotta be kidding.” It wouldn’t be strategically smart to begin to demean. After all, the whole point of agreeing to a polygraph in the first place, which my attorney thought very ill-advised, was an earnest attempt to not only support my claim of innocence but equally to keep the investigation focused on the creature they already had in custody. So naturally it would be in my better interest to indulge Toody and Muldoon in their painfully obvious gambit. Just more of one bizarre event after another in a new normal. Besides, the capital was close to two hours away and having a match of sorts to play came as a welcome diversion.

Sure enough, before we even got on the highway, the Inspector referred to the late-night television show I cited during initial questioning when he had me recounting my every moment on the night of the murder.

“You said you watched an episode of Stedler that night at the group home. What was that about again?”

I replied, “He was trying to smuggle some prostitutes to Interpol in Berlin. They had info on the Russians there.”

Then the Inspector offhandedly added, “He did end up getting those two girls out of Moscow, right?”

Ah! The Inspector had done some checking or had someone check for him and this was presumably designed to further test my credibility. With the truth in my corner, my return volley was an easy lob, “Actually there were three women and they were in Vilnius. I don’t know what eventually happened. It was a two-parter.”

For the next forty-five minutes, whenever our conversation approximated affable, the Inspector or Lunk would attempt to weave in a poorly disguised probing question or loaded statement related to the investigation. Realizing my responses were consistently accurate and they were finding no incongruities, the two sleuths fell quiet. The rest of the ride passed in silence, a silence that sucked me into an inverted tailspin of anxiety. Although I knew I was innocent and they had Romney, I was well aware volunteering to subject myself to a polygraph came with serious risk. What if my jangling nerves and fragmented frame of mind caused a false positive or possibly could render the results inconclusive. The closer we got the more doubt crept in.

When we pulled into the central lab parking lot I was full-on levitating. Presumably it was the wind that lifted me out of the car and escorted me into the building where I hovered along the corridor’s astral rung with my hair skimming the ceiling. I vaguely recall being connected to the polygraph and asked a number of mundane preliminary questions. I do vividly remember though the technician pointedly asking whether I had any part in the commission of the murder. Every bit of the jumble vibrating throughout my body seemed to suddenly snap into the eye of my internal hurricane. Slammed down dead calm like a thick sheet of standing steel tipping over and landing perfectly flat, I answered, “No.” The reply, a tranquil certainty, rose from the hole in my heart, filled my chest and exited my lips like a giant bubble. I think there were a few more questions after that. Next thing, we were back in the car.

Hitting the highway again, Lunk looked at me via the rear-view mirror. The late afternoon winter sunlight illuminated the upper half of his head. With an implied challenge in his voice, he asked if I was right or left-handed. It was his Hail Mary lofted to possibly implicate me. When I informed him about my being dominantly right, I could see the disappointment trickle into his eyes. I knew then the coroner had established the perpetrator to be left-handed and that Lunk’s last-ditch effort at a gotcha also meant I’d passed the polygraph. Not a further word was spoken the entire ride back. When they dropped me at my car, the Inspector simply said. “I’ll be in touch.”

Toody & Muldoon were characters in an old TV show from The States.  If curious see:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_54,_Where_Are_You%3F

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WE KNOW WHO ONE ANOTHER ARE

If there's no such thing as good taste. A rounds creep inexorably downward. One reason it's easy to know how to design type systems may shudder at this. But software, as a rule, doesn't get redesigned enough. Pick good cofounders. If you want to buy a nice CD player, you'll probably grow, your price will go up, and you'll start to get it through to people. The reason the new model has advanced so rapidly is that it sucks for doing what hackers want to do something grand or heroic, but just to make money.

Since software patents are no different from hardware patents, people protected ideas by keeping them secret. It's hard for us now to understand what they do: you call a function on the macro's arguments, and whatever it returns gets inserted in place of the macro call. This pattern is no coincidence: it is the people. The same thing could happen with the Internet. Everyone buys this story that PG started YC and his wife just kind of helped. Things always seem intangible when you don't understand them. Countries worried about their competitiveness are right to be concerned about the number of sufficiently good founders starting companies, and that often means seeing something the big company doesn't want to work that hard. But now comes the hard part. As in science, the hard part. It's very dangerous to morale to start to depend on deals closing, not just as a landmark in the history of technology would want to underestimate the power of large organizations peaked in the late twentieth century something changed. If nuclear winter really is here, it may be more than new. In young hackers, optimism predominates.

I don't think there was a change in the social conventions and perhaps the laws governing the way big companies worked. Well, not quite. The libraries all work well together; everything in the language fits together like the parts in a fine camera. In America you can have either a flimsy box banged together out of two by fours and drywall, or a McMansion—a flimsy box banged together out of two by fours and drywall, but larger, more dramatic-looking, and full of good examples to learn from, and the latter because the whole social thing was tapped out. Wufoo seem to have rooted themselves in Tampa on $118k, but they're an extreme case. But as the tests get broader, the schools do too. The other big driver of change is that startups are often involved in disreputable things. Over the last decade we've seen the percentage of the company sold in series A rounds for as much equity as founders want to sell and with no option pool that comes only from the founders' shares stands to reap huge benefits.

He was like nothing else I'd seen. I don't think there was a change in the social conventions and perhaps the laws governing the way big companies worked. Part of the reason—possibly the main reason—that startups have not spread as broadly as the Industrial Revolution? Running a startup is to focus on one to the exclusion of the rest. In other fields, companies regularly sue competitors for patent infringement till you have money, and once you have money, people will pay attention to you, because if they don't like what they're supposed to. It was striking how old fashioned this sounded. Hackers like to hack, we can spring on the world a stream of new startups that might otherwise not have existed. The median visitor will arrive with their finger poised on the Back button.

It has an interactive toplevel that starts up fast. That doesn't mean you can ignore the economy. Or rather, what used to be very valuable to YC. A market takes every organization and keeps just the good ones and the bad ones only becomes visible in the other half of their jobs: choosing and advising startups. I talk to the founders. The real reason we started Y Combinator. K & R is the ideal here. So all other things being equal, no one will sue you for patent infringement. More precisely, the trick is to realize that there's no real contradiction here. The classic yuppie worked for a small organization. It's hard for them to flourish in societies ruled by people who stole at will from the merchant class.

Of course it matters to do a good job. And in any case, competitors are not the biggest threat. Many of the interesting applications written in other languages. They were actually right. Don't say anything unless you're fairly sure of it. Every couple days I slip and call it Viaweb. This is especially true of a highly articulated tool like a programming language to have, say, to make your software compatible with some other piece of software—in fact, he was.

[misfitwashere]

October 17, 2024

Heather Cox Richardson

Oct 17, 2024

In a new rule released yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission requires sellers to make it as easy to cancel a subscription to a gym or a service as it is to sign up for one. In a statement, FTC chair Lina Khan explained the reasoning behind the “click-to-cancel” rule: “Too often, businesses make people jump through endless hoops just to cancel a subscription,” she said. “Nobody should be stuck paying for a service they no longer want.” Although most of the new requirements won’t take effect for about six months, David Dayen of The American Prospect noted that the stock price of Planet Fitness fell 8% after the announcement. 

When he took office in January 2021, with democracy under siege from autocratic governments abroad and an authoritarian movement at home, President Joe Biden set out to prove that democracy could deliver for the ordinary people who had lost faith in it. The click-to-cancel rule is an illustration of an obvious and long-overdue protection, but it is only one of many ways—$35 insulin, new bridges, loan forgiveness, higher wages, good jobs—in which policies designed to benefit ordinary people have demonstrated that a democratic government can improve lives.

When Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations yesterday, she noted that the administration “has driven a historic economic recovery” with strong growth, very low unemployment rates, and inflation returning to normal. Now it is focused on lowering costs for families and expanding the economy while reducing inequality. That strong economy at home is helping to power the global economy, Yellen noted, and the U.S. has been working to strengthen that economy by reinforcing global policies, investments, and institutions that reinforce economic stability. 

“Over the past four years, the world has been through a lot,” Yellen said, “from a once-in-a-century pandemic, to the largest land war in Europe since World War II, to increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters. This has only underlined that we are all in it together. America’s economic well-being depends on the world’s, and America’s economic leadership is key to global prosperity and security.” She warned against isolationism that would undermine such prosperity both at home and abroad.

The numbers behind the proven experience that government protection of ordinary people is good for economic growth got the blessing of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday, when it awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences to Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, both of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and to James Robinson of the University of Chicago. Their research explains why “[s]ocieties with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do not generate growth or change for the better,” while democracies do.   

Although democracy has been delivering for Americans, Donald Trump and MAGAs rose to power by convincing those left behind by 40 years of supply-side economics that their problem was not the people in charge of the government, but rather the government itself. 

Trump wants to get rid of the current government so that he can enrich himself, do whatever he wants to his enemies, and avoid answering to the law. The Christian nationalists who wrote Project 2025 want to destroy the federal government so they can put in place an authoritarian who will force Americans to live under religious rule. Tech elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel want to get rid of the federal government so they can control the future without having to worry about regulations. 

In place of what they insist is a democratic system that has failed, they are offering a strongman who, they claim, will take care of people more efficiently than a democratic government can. The focus on masculinity and portrayals of Trump as a muscled hero‚ much as Russian president Vladimir Putin portrays himself, fit the mold of an authoritarian leader.

But the argument that Americans need a strongman depends on the argument that democracy does not work. In the last three-and-a-half years, Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Democrats have proved that it can, so long as it operates with the best interests of ordinary people in mind. Trump and Vance’s outlandish lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene are designed to override the reality of a competent administration addressing a crisis with all the tools it has. In its place, the lies provide a false narrative of federal officials ignoring people and trying to steal their property.  

Their attack on democracy has another problem, as well. In addition to the reality that democracy has been delivering for Americans for more than three years now—and pretty dramatically—Trump is no longer a strongman. Vice President Kamala Harris is outperforming  him in the theater of political dominance. And as she does so, his image is crumbling.

In an article in US News and World Report yesterday, NBC’s former chief marketer John D. Miller apologized to America for helping to “create a monster.” Miller led the team that marketed The Apprentice, the reality TV show that made Trump a household name. “To sell the show,” Miller wrote, “we created the narrative that Trump was a super-successful businessman who lived like royalty.” But the truth was that he declared bankruptcy six times, and “[t]he imposing board room where he famously fired contestants was a set, because his real boardroom was too old and shabby for TV,” Miller wrote. While Trump loved the attention the show provided, “more successful CEOs were too busy to get involved in reality TV.” 

Miller says they “promoted the show relentlessly,” blanketing the country with a “highly exaggerated” image of Trump as a successful businessman “like a heavy snowstorm.” “[W]e…did irreparable harm by creating the false image of Trump as a successful leader,” Miller wrote. “I deeply regret that. And I regret that it has taken me so long to go public.” 

Speaking as a “born-and-bred Republican,” Miller warned: “If you believe that Trump will be better for you or better for the country, that is an illusion, much like The Apprentice was.” He strongly urged people to vote for Kamala Harris. “The country will be better off and so will you.” 

A new video shown last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live even more powerfully illustrated the collapse of Trump’s tough guy image. Written by Jesse Joyce of Comedy Central, the two-minute video featured actor and retired professional wrestler Dave Bautista dominating his sparring partner in a boxing ring and then telling those who think Trump is “some sort of tough guy” that “he’s not.” 

Working out in a gym, Bautista insults Trump’s heavy makeup, out-of-shape body, draft dodging, and physical weakness, and notes that “he sells imaginary baseball cards pretending to be a cowboy fireman” when “he’s barely strong enough to hold an umbrella.” Bautista says Trump’s two-handed method of drinking water looks “like a little pink chickadee,” and goes on to make a raunchy observation about Trump’s stage dancing. “He’s moody, he pouts, he throws tantrums,” Bautista goes on. “He’s cattier on social media than a middle-school mean girl.”

Bautista ends by listing Trump’s fears of rain, dogs, windmills…and being laughed at.” “And mostly,” Bautista concludes, “he’s terrified that real, red-blooded American men will find out that he’s a weak, tubby toddler.” Calling Trump a “whiny b*tch,” Bautista walks away from the camera. 

The sketch was billed as comedy, but it was deadly serious in its takedown of the key element of Trump’s political power.

And he seems vulnerable. Forbes and Newsweek have recently questioned his mental health; yesterday the Boston Globe ran an op-ed saying, “Trump’s decline is too dangerous to ignore. We can see the decline in the former president’s ability to hold a train of thought, speak coherently, or demonstrate a command of the English language, to say nothing of policy.” 

Trump’s Fox News Channel town hall yesterday got 2.9 million viewers; Harris’s interview got 7.1 million. Today, Trump canceled yet another appearance, this one with the National Rifle Association in Savannah, Georgia, scheduled for October 22, where he was supposed to be the keynote speaker.

Meanwhile, Vice President Harris today held rallies in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. In La Crosse, MAGA hecklers tried to interrupt her while she was speaking about the centrality of the three Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices to the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. 

“Oh, you guys are at the wrong rally,” Harris called to them with a smile and a wave. As the crowd roared with approval, she added: “No, I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street.” 

—

[contendresolar]

The Top Benefits of Solar Panels for Commercial Buildings

Businesses are realizing the sun's potential! Lots of buildings are adding solar panels to cut electricity costs. It's good for the environment, but the best part is saving money. With reduced bills and drawing in eco-friendly customers, solar power is a smart choice. Here's why commercial buildings are switching!

Subsidies and Incentives:

Governments and local authorities often give businesses good deals and bonuses if they use solar energy systems. These perks can help cover a big part of the cost of installing solar panels, making it a smart money choice. Also, using these perks can help businesses make more money and help the planet at the same time.

Efficient Space Utilization:

Commercial buildings often have lots of space on their roofs, which is perfect for installing solar panels. Businesses can use this unused space to make a lot of energy without giving up any important land. Also, solar rooftop panel installation can help keep the building cool and protect the roof from bad weather, making it last longer. That’s why commercial solar panel installation is so effective.

Cost Savings on Electricity:

One of the main benefits of solar panels is that they’re a good investment for businesses. They produce clean energy, which means we don't have to depend so much on the power grid and worry about increasing electricity bills. Plus, the cash we save on those bills? We can use it to make our business even better, and we could invest in new equipment or hire more people from saved bills. It's like planting seeds for the future of our company, helping it grow and be more eco-friendly too.

Related guide: How Solar Panels Reduce Your Electricity Bills

Environmental Benefits of Solar Panels:

Solar energy can really help businesses do their part in fighting climate change. By turning to solar power, companies can significantly cut down on their carbon footprint, which is great news for the environment. And when we use less fossil fuels, we're also looking out for our planet's resources and the creatures that call it home in the long run.

Read more: Benefits of Solar Panels for Factories, Warehouses, and Industries

High Increase in Property Value:

People are willing to pay extra for properties with renewable energy systems. Plus, solar panels make a building look good, and because of this, commercial buildings with solar panels often sell for more money. It attracts more buyers or tenants and boosts its overall value.

Less Maintenance Costs:

We all know Solar panels save money on electricity! But it is also very low in maintenance. Simply checking and cleaning them occasionally keeps them working properly. This saves money for businesses because they don't have to spend much on maintenance. Also, solar technology will improve in the coming years, making it more affordable and reducing costs.

Qualify for Tax Breaks:

Businesses can save money with solar panels thanks to tax breaks and subsidies. This makes solar a smart financial choice. Also, using tax incentives can free up cash for future projects or growth.

Installation of Solar Panels Is Affordable:

Thanks to technology getting better and more companies competing, putting in solar modules now costs less. Even small businesses in any industry can manage it. Also, there are payment plans like solar leases and power purchase agreements that help businesses start using solar energy even if they don't have a lot of money upfront.

Return on Investment (ROI):

Solar panels are a smart investment, often paying for themselves in 5 to 10 years. After that, businesses can enjoy almost free electricity for many years, saving a lot of money. Plus, as energy costs go up, solar panel manufacturing will keep growing, giving businesses a reliable way to save money and make extra income.

Supports the local economy:

Choosing solar energy not only helps the environment but also helps the local economy. Businesses that use solar power create jobs in renewable energy and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. This strengthens the economy and makes communities stronger. Also, supporting local solar companies builds a sustainable business community and makes the economy more resilient.

Conclusion

More businesses are picking solar panels, signaling a shift towards sustainability and self-reliance for energy. The advantages are evident: saving money and aiding the environment. With new technology and easier access to renewable energy, companies can easily save money and contribute to a cleaner world. By choosing solar power, commercial buildings can make way for a brighter and greener future.

[dasenergie]

The Economic and Environmental Benefits of Solar Installation Subsidies

Solar energy is really important in today's world as we try to live more sustainably. We're worried about climate change and using up fossil fuels, so using the sun's power is a great idea. Solar installation subsidies help a lot with this. They're like a boost that helps people and businesses switch to cleaner energy sources. These subsidies don't just save money, they're also a smart investment in our planet's future. They bring many good things for the economy and the environment, which we'll discuss in this article. By making solar power easier and cheaper, subsidies help more people use clean energy and improve the world.

Boosting Economic Growth When the government offers subsidies for installing solar panels at home, going solar is much cheaper and more appealing for homeowners. This money-saving deal makes a big difference because it reduces the first costs of getting solar power. Plus, it helps create more jobs in solar companies because more people want solar panels. This growth doesn't just stay in the solar industry—it also boosts other parts of the economy, like making solar panels, selling them, taking care of them, and the rooftop solar companies benefit, too.

Enhancing Energy Security Subsidising solar installations is a strategic step towards enhancing energy security. By promoting solar installation in home, governments and policymakers are effectively reducing the reliance on imported fuels. This means we're not as affected by changes in fuel prices, making our economy more stable. It also makes our country more self-sufficient in energy. Plus, because solar power is spread out, our energy system is stronger and better able to handle problems, so communities always have power.

Reducing Carbon Footprint One of the most compelling arguments for solar installation subsidies is their role in mitigating climate change. By facilitating solar energy solutions, these subsidies directly contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Solar power is clean, never runs out, and doesn't cause any pollution when used. Changing from fossil fuels to solar energy is important for reducing carbon emissions, fighting global warming, and keeping our environment safe for the future.

Promoting Sustainable Development Solar installation subsidies are a testament to the commitment towards sustainable development. They not only make solar installation for home costs more accessible but also encourage a broader adoption of renewable energy. This change helps with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, especially about making energy cleaner and cheaper, building lasting cities and communities, and taking action on climate change. By putting money into solar power, we're making a path for a future with less pollution and showing how important it is to protect our planet's resources.

Last note Solar installation subsidies bring clear and important benefits. They help the economy grow, keep our energy supply safe, and reduce the pollution we create. They're also a big part of making our world cleaner and healthier for the future. Das Energie Private Limited is a leader in this effort, providing smart solar solutions that are good for the environment and make financial sense. By choosing Das Energie, you're not just getting solar panels but making a smart investment in a better future for everyone. Join us in embracing renewable energy and building a cleaner, greener world together. Explore their offerings and learn more about how you can contribute to a sustainable future by visiting their website today at dasenergie.com.

[avo-kat]

lemme check the news! :)

federal office for the protection of the constitution: the right-wing party AFD is right-wing extremist

news: Members of the AFD (+ other nazis) have a meeting talking about “remigration”, aka a plan to deport all foreigners (immigrants, asyl seekers and not assimilated german citizens) living in germany there

AFD: umm, that wasn’t an official party meeting, it was just a private meeintg??? :/

some german politicans: maybe we should ban the party… their idee of deporting ppl is clearly against our constitution... But that may be too difficult? :/

news: prognosis: the AFD will most likely get a bunch of votes in the next elections and may be in the government according to surveys

the current government: hey we wanna send bullets to israel to fight hamas :) #neveragain

news: 900.000 social apartments are missing that are needed

politician and human scum called spahn: we should punish unemployed people on social security even more. Oh we cant because of the constitution? Hmm we should change the constitution so we can do that. :) yes, the parts talking about human dignity. Who cares about poor people? Lmao

“social” party SPD: oh yes. This cannabis legalization thing we promised to do in our campaign and weve worked on for two years and promised to bring this year? Actually, we voted against it, because. Um. Concerns. Ur welcome.

ALSO, theres a poltiician whos even TOO RIGHT-WING for germany and people are demanding to REVOKE HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS so his free sprech wont be protected anymore and he wont be able to vote or be voted for. Hes too much of a nazi even for germany!!!!! ?????? why yes, he’s part of AFD, why are you asking? And yes, its possible to revoke constituional rights for people who are a serious danger to our democracy. Lmao.

news: hospitals are overloaded, regular clinics are overloaded, the phone hotline is overloaded, long waiting times, not enough employees

news: the government promised “climate money” as a reward for ppl for use less energy, because energy prices are rising. But alas the money that was supposed to uhhh last year wont come until, um, maybe 2027?

government: hey we promised a new & better law for trans ppl! Now, instead of having to pay €€€ and letting urself be humiliated in front of judges, changing ur name and gender will be soooo easy! Just fill out this form. And… we’ll save ur prev name for security reasons in this list. And give this out to basically anybody who asks. Also, surgeries will no longer be covered. Because. Saftey. Also this law will come…. End of this year… maybe??? :)

news: 100 days after the hamas-attack. A whole society is re-traumatized. Poor israel. :(

news: the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer

news: the economy is shrinking… people arent buying enough. Because of the war. (russian war, duh) and inflation.

news: we are sending medicine to the israeli hostages! Don’t worry the red cross will make sure the medicine will reach the hostages! We need pictures as proof hamas isnt using the medicine themselves and giving it to the hostages tho. Some of the hostages are sick! Also apparently 160 palestinians died in the last 24 hours?

-> DISCLAIMER: all information to this conflict CANT be verified by an independent source! Any information on the war progress, attacks and number of victims cant be relied upon!!!! Careful!!!!!!!!!!!

 news: Israel drones shot a car where the LEADER of TERROR CELL was inside who had been planning to ATTACK. Good thing israel killed him!!! And several other people! Yay!

news: the US defended a ship from a ROCKET shot by HUTHI, yay. With a fighter jet, cool! The US and allies started an attack on 30 milita stations in yemen last Friday. President joe biden warned, that huthi had to prepare for additional military actions, if they don’t give in. the US is supported by the uk, the netherlands, canada, australia and bahrain. Apparently ships are stuck with gas. If they cant continue, they have to sail around the cap. Some british politician says “freedom of shipping is an internation right”.

-> at the very bottom: The huthi are supported by iran and have been recently attacking trade ships in the red sea. they want to pressure israel because of the war in gaza. They see themselves as part of a self-named “axis of resistance” against israel. Hamas in gaza is also part of that.

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[liberty1776]

Will The Fed End Trump?

Early in 2017, Senator Chuck Schumer stated that then-newly elected President Donald Trump was dumb to be antagonizing the intelligence community because “they have six ways from Sunday to get back at you.” Senator Schumer seems to have been onto something, given the possible involvement of U.S. national security officials in the various attempts to remove President Trump from office and then sabotage his reelection campaign.

As powerful as the intelligence agencies are, there is another secretive government institution that also has great ability to harm, or help, politicians: the Federal Reserve. By manipulating the money supply and interest rates, the Fed can cause a temporary boom or slowdown. As we have seen over the past several years, the Federal Reserve’s money creation will also lead to rising prices, which can offset any economic benefits the average American receives from a Fed-created boom.

While the Fed is responsible for boom and bust cycles that plague the American economy, most people give the credit or blame for a strong or weak economy to the president and other elected officials. Partisan politics play a role in this too, like when Republicans labeled the price inflation created by the Fed’s unprecedented money creation “Bidenflation,” suggesting Biden was responsible.

Since the Federal Reserve’s creation, presidents have pressured the Fed to implement monetary policies helpful to their administrations. Usually, the Fed tries to accommodate presidents, which is why economists refer to the political business cycle. However, the Fed does not always accommodate presidents. President George H.W. Bush and members of his administration blamed his 1992 loss on Fed Chairman Greenspan’s refusal to lower interest rates to help the economy recover from a recession.

Trump, as a presidential candidate, accused the Fed of keeping rates low in 2016 to help Hillary Clinton. Then, Trump, as president, appointed Jerome Powell to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. Trump proceeded to regularly criticize Powell on Twitter for not lowering interest rates, even though rates were already at historically low levels. Trump was criticized for trying to influence the Fed even though almost every president tries in some way or another to influence the Fed’s monetary policies. Trump’s mean tweets certainly do not compare to Lyndon Johnson, who once shoved Fed Chair William Martin against a wall after a Fed interest rate increase that would hinder financing of the Great Society at home and the Vietnam War abroad.

Biden has stated that he would respect the Fed’s independence. So, it makes sense that Powell would prefer four more years of Biden’s silence to four more years of Trump’s online attacks. The desire to help, or at least not hurt, Biden could be the reason the Fed is signaling it will stop raising rates next year. This may also be one reason many “mainstream” economic commentators are saying the Fed has succeeded in bringing down inflation without throwing the economy into recession.

If President Trump had pushed for passage of the Audit the Fed legislation, he might not have had to worry about a secretive central bank undermining his campaign to regain the presidency. Furthermore, if Trump’s opponents really care about protecting the American people, they would focus on the threats to liberty, prosperity, and limited constitutional government posed by the Federal Reserve’s fiat money insurrection.

Ron Paul

[coochiequeens]

When you’re so loose with the word “woman” you forget that infertile women are still women.

Kansas has passed what has been described as the “broadest” anti-trans bathroom bill in the United States, the confines of which could see some cis women barred from female toilets. 

Lawmakers in the state overturned a previous veto by governor Laura Kelly, who has continually spoken out against anti-trans legislation. 

SB 180, entitled the Women’s Bill of Rights, bans trans and intersex women from toilets, changing rooms and prison facilities that align with their gender, as well as barring trans women from accessing domestic abuse shelters and rape crisis centres.   

The legislation has been criticised as legally erasing trans people by stating an “individual’s “sex” means an individual’s sex at birth, either male or female”. 

Definitions outlined in the bill also state a female is a person who produces “ova” – in other words, eggs – meaning cis women who are infertile and are unable to produce eggs could barred from spaces under the legislation’s legal terms. 

The bill was passed by 84 votes to 40 in the House and subsequently 28-12 in the Senate. 

The new law is expected to take effect on 1 July. 

Republican’s quizzed over genital inspections 

Republican representative Brenda Landwehr, who carried the bill in the House, said: “What’s the rights of a woman? 

“For 50 years, women have fought for rights, for the right to vote, for the right to drive, and now we’re being told today that women’s rights don’t matter. 

“Little girls should not have to be exposed to a man in the female bathroom.”

Blasting the administration of the bill, Democrat Heather Meyer quizzed Republican lawmakers: “Are you all going to check the genitals of every trans child who walks into the restroom, or maybe just children in general, so you can figure out who’s a male and who’s a female biologically?”

Taking to Twitter, governor Kelly said she was “disappointed” lawmakers want to force “extremist” legislation through. 

“I promised Kansans I’d govern from the middle of the road and that I’d serve as a check on legislation that is too extreme one way or the other,” she said in a thread of tweets.

“I’m disappointed some legislators are eager to force through extremist legislation that will hurt our economy and tarnish our reputation as the Free State. I strive every day to make Kansas a place where more people want to work and raise a family.

“The bills passed yesterday and today will reverse much of the progress we’ve made in recent years.

“I thank those who have stood with me in keeping Kansas moving forward, in protecting our public schools, and in looking out for everyday working Kansans.”

“Am I going to get harassed for that?”

Speaking with the Associated Press, 20-year-old transgender University of Kansas student Jenna Bellemere aired her concerns about the bill. 

She said: “When I go out in public, like I’m at a restaurant or up on campus or whatever, and I need to go to the bathroom, there’s definitely going to be a voice in my head that says, ‘“Am I going to get harassed for that?’” 

“It just makes it so much more complicated and risky and unnecessarily difficult.”

Another trans University of Kansas, 19-year-old Adam Kellogg, also told AP the law will impact cis women as much as trans women. 

“Tomboys, people who just aren’t really that into femininity as a woman, they can’t freely express themselves without being worried that they’re going to be called out and removed from the spaces that they rightfully belong in,” Kellogg said. 

Opposing the law, Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the bill’s “lack of clarity is by design”. 

“It allows them to disclaim the worst possible interpretation while also allowing for the worst possible outcome to happen,” the executive said. 

The passage of the bill in Kansas is part of a nationwide attack on trans rights which has swept across every state in America. 

So far in 2023 alone, more than 500 anti-trans bills have been tabled which seek to exclude trans people from public life, using facilities which align with their gender, taking part in sports and accessing gender affirming healthcare.

[thesecrettimes]

Market Analyst Heralds the Collapse of ‘Everything,’ Calls for Hedging in Gold and Silver Before There Isn’t Any Left

Egon von Greyerz, market analyst and founder of Matterhorn Asset Management, is predicting the collapse of the central bank system in the next few years due to an increasing issuance of currency and debt. Von Greyerz states that in the face of an economy with no buyers, the only hedge will be tangible assets, including gold and silver.

The Collapse of ‘Everything’

Egon von Greyerz, the founder of Matterhorn Asset Management, has recently expressed his worries about the situation of the central banking system in an article titled “The Everything Collapse,” where he details how the economy could collapse in the coming years, calling for people to hedge their savings in gold and silver. Von Greyerz states that the current macroeconomic problems are derived from the uncontrolled issuance of fiat money and debt, manipulated by the movements of central banks. He believes that the 2008 market collapse, the subprime mortgage crisis, the wild swing in the rates of treasuries, and the inflation boom have all been produced by the current central banking system. Von Greyerz states: The debt which has built up has now reached levels which means the financial system is now too big to survive. Von Greyerz explains that central banks are vigilant to stop bank collapses, as evidenced by what already happened with Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. However, he believes the issued controls, like the insurance set by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures only 0.7% of the $18 trillion in deposits, are posed to fail. This means governments will have to start printing more money in order to save the system.

Gold and Silver: The Ultimate Hedge

In his article, Von Greyerz notes that all assets are priced at the margin, and while investors exit the stock market and other markets, like the real estate market, it is possible for assets to plunge by 70% or even to zero. He states: If there is one seller and no buyer in the housing market, the price of all houses will go to zero. The same is true for the stock market. But as investors run for the exit, most will not get through since there will at some point be no buyers at any price. In this hypothetical situation, Von Greyers recommends paying all debts in order to avoid suffering bank repossessions, and jumping to tangible assets. However, in the long run, he recommends a flight to safety by investing in precious metals like gold and silver, before the demands leave the current supply at zero. He concluded: Currently, all production is absorbed and any increase in demand cannot be met by increased supply but only by much higher prices. We could reach a situation when there is no silver or gold available at any price. What do you think about the potential collapse of the financial system discussed by Von Greyerz and the value of gold and silver as protection for investors? Tell us in the comments section below. Read the full article