I must be out of the loop. What does “blue dot fever” mean?

So many people can’t even change their shopping habits to make more ethical choices. There’s no way a sizeable population is going to forego passing on their DNA just to send a message.

As a teen, I figured I’d adopt kids when I got older. The amount of people who were dead-set on “b-b-but my genetic lineage!” was startling. As I’ve aged through my 20s and now my 30s, I’ve seen them stick true to their word and have their own babies, even with the world circling down the drain. The biological call to reproduce seems to override a lot of other matters.

Now consider how hard it is to get people to quit something without a biological imperative, like shopping on Amazon…

Anyway, I admire your initiative. I just can’t imagine people participating en masse in a protest that involves forfeiting something so dear and intimate to them as their choice to reproduce.

this country allowed the idiots to breed and there are no easy way back.

It’s even worse than that. The school system is fucked. A lot of people that could’ve wound up mildly intelligent were denied the skill of critical thinking and the benefits of well-rounded education. Instead, they were taught to game tests and to obey their authorities without protest. Don’t rock the boat, don’t “talk back” when you’re wronged, just do what you’re told and keep your mouth quiet about it.

It’s no mystery why so many people rely on talking heads to direct their political opinions.

So, the goal is to make our skin rough as a leather bag?

Even black people can get sunburnt, despite having far more melanin than a pasty old man like RFK Jr. There’s no way white people can approach that level of natural skin protection, yet even the darkest skin has its limits when it comes to blocking UV. But I guess if RFK’s ilk wants to fuck around and find out, they can have at it.

As for me, I’ll keep using sunblock. And avoiding sewage wastewater. And getting my vaccinations. And taking my anti-depressants. And washing my hands…

The article goes on about oil prices, but there’s no mention of the fact that many people can’t afford to vacation these days. Of course the budget airline is the first to fail when people on budgets are too busy trying to keep their families fed, housed, and healthy.

Propaganda is a powerful drug

At one point after Google bought YouTube, I signed into YT and was horrified to find that my username was replaced with my real name. I hadn’t been asked or alerted to a change, it was rolled out silently. I changed it back immediately, because holy shit that’s invasive. But yes, Google/YouTube forced real names (at least at that point in time.)

But I’m not ready to put Pawpaw in the ground!

Seriously though, TIL! It’s not native to my area, but apparently its range isn’t very far from me. My gf and I are getting into foraging lately (we picked a bunch of invasive garlic mustard last time we went out) and might take a few classes in it. So maybe if we find ourselves in those areas, we can look for Pawpaws next!

Companies with more than $1 billion gross revenue or more than 500 employees would be scheduled to increase their minimum pay to $25/hour by 2031, while smaller employers would be on a longer timeline to reach $25/hour by 2038.

I wish we would stop chasing moving targets here. 2031 is just 5 years, but what will it mean with inflation? Using an inflation calculator and comparing $25 from five years ago (2021), to today’s inflation rate, it bring us to $30.47 in 2026. Over five dollars in five years.

I’m no mathematician or economist, so correct me if I’m wrong, but if inflation continues this trend, wouldn’t enacting a $25 wage in 5 years still bring us below a minimum living wage? That is, if we’d started the fight for $25 five years ago, maybe it’d make sense to make it that number today. But by picking a target that makes sense today and pushing it 5 years into the future, doesn’t that mean it’ll be $5 weaker (or whatever change inflation causes) when it finally rolls out?

Calculate future inflation before picking the target, then tie the number to inflation, damn it. These low numbers just mean we’ll keep chasing new minimums and will always be left behind.

She compared that to a “real woman,” a subtype that she said was meant to “catapult a man.”

“We’re powerful women, we are, if we use it in the right way,” Isaak said, specifying the necessity to use that energy for men.

Instructions unclear; man stuck in tree.

have such hubris that they believe those averse effect only affect others

TBF there is a lot of variability in how cannabis affects different people. I’ve got a friend who had to quit because it made him extremely paranoid, to the point that he’d hallucinate. That isn’t universal by a long shot. I haven’t experienced paranoia or hallucinations, the biggest side effect I’ve experienced is sleepiness. Meanwhile my friend found it harder to sleep while high because his brain kept playing tricks on him. Very different brains, very different results.

Though I don’t doubt that plenty of people misjudge their abilities while high, just as they misjudge their abilities when drunk. But it’s important to note that it isn’t necessarily hubris that makes a person say, “Weed doesn’t do that to me.” Some of us genuinely experience different effects. You can’t truly know what’s going on in someone’s head unless you’re the one living in it.

Why

You’ve been explaining “why” such a revolution is important from the get-go. Now you’re denying all those reasons for the sake of a petty jab.

You know full well why it’s important. You’re just angry at receiving a call to action, despite sitting around calling others to action.

Now look, do you want us to fix this mess or not? Because if you sincerely do, you should understand why in-fighting between those with a common cause isn’t helpful. Tearing down people who are trying their best and asking for help, or who are celebrating small wins because that’s the best they’ve got, serves no use to anyone. OP’s absolutely right that we need suggestions to get the ball rolling. We’re at a stage now where we’re still organizing, which is hard when authoritarians have access to monitor practically everything in this country.

Think about it - we can’t just make a webpage or online group for like-minded people to meet up at. We have to go out to meet people and talk face-to-face. That takes a lot of time. Our best shot at networking is at the protests (which plenty of people who’ve never been to one criticize as “useless.”)

If there are reasonable ways to catalyze such a movement, we’d appreciate being made aware of them. Right now, online warriors seem to think that one person can become an instant hero, despite having zero logistics for how that’s supposed to realistically happen. If you happen to have knowledge of such logistics, please share them. That way we can all move toward the future that we all want.

flailing pussies

New band name

When Americans got upset that John Lennon said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, at least Lennon owned his words. He never called it a joke or belittled his critics. He calmly stated his reasons and eventually apologized for upsetting people.

I’m not saying this to hold up John Lennon as some epitome of goodness (he’s had his share of skeletons in the closet.) Rather, that even a snarky lad who built his public persona on taking the piss at any given opportunity didn’t fall back on the “it’s just a joke, bro” defense.

Random, but this pulled up an old memory. When I was a kid bordering on teenagerhood, one of my friends was excited that her parents were finally permitting her to swear. “No shit, Sherlock,” was her favorite, and it ended up practically becoming her catch phrase.

He’ll continue aging and eventually lose his muscles. But then he’ll have some nice, little titties. So that’s something.

If they went to local protests, they’d meet those other leftists. Networking absolutely occurs at these events.

Didn’t King of the Hill do an episode about the change in cheerleading?

Ah yes, high-heeled shoes on a wet deck while leaning on the railing of a giant, moving ship. What could go wrong?

Almost half of all Americans fear a total economic collapse. The other half are looking forward to it.