MerryJaneDoe

<shrugs>

I’m sorry, but ICE’s activities are the status quo in many countries. This person is looking at countries like Japan and China. How strict do you think immigration enforcement might be in China? Do you figure that Japan tolerates a lot of inconsistency when filling out an immigration visa?

It doesn’t matter how things should be, only that this is how they are. Today. RIght now. Yes, the U.S. has a hard-liner in office. Yes, ICE will discriminate - the color of your skin and your country of origin matter. But that’s not so abnormal on a global scale.

So why mention prostitutes in particular? Why not fry cooks or line workers?

And “easy”?! There’s nothing “easy” about collecting data on sex workers by visiting different areas and polling them! It’s definitely SO much easier to just Google “Cost of living index”

If it’s not easy and it’s not specific to prostitutes, it means the statement is false. WHY ARE WE LAUGHING AT A LIE?!

Answer: BECAUSE IT’S A JOKE. It’s a joke about sex work. It’s a joke about how only a desperate person would sell their body for money, therefore offering customers a discount based on their location.

So, yeah, it’s a bit in bad taste. As are many jokes. In fact, I feel a bit depressed now. No worries, it’s nothing a night out on the town with a couple of teenage hookers won’t cure! :)

What strikes me about this:

Tubi is ad supported.

Sesame Street used to air on PBS, public broadcasting. The ads during my childhood were very wholesome - an announcement of a sponsor or donor. Never anything loud or crass, and many were public service announcements. Like Smokey the Bear from the National Parks, and other public interests.

Now Sesame Street will be filled with targeted advertising, blaring across the room.

I’m happy that people will be able to watch for free, but sad for what we’ve lost.

Piglet would like a word with you.

Also cats. Dogs. Lemurs. Rats.

Basically, any creature that has a pink nose probably has pink lips. We just don’t notice because they are mostly covered in fur and proportionately thinner than human lips.

Yeah!

<grabs popcorn>

OR…and hear me out on this…

Trump escalates the war on the premise that the US should provide safe passage to those ships. He dumps a fleet or two of ships into the Gulf, along with a trillion dollars or so for a ground war and insurance for the tankers. The US and Israel promise to keep the Gulf secure in perpetuity.

we’ll be living in a very different world. The boot of the west will come off the neck of humanity, and the rest of the world will finally have a chance to breathe.

We’re already seeing this trend and have for years - but Rome doesn’t collapse in a day.

The entire point of the petrodollar is to perpetuate the US hegemony. The entire world, including our allies, know this. The average American knows this. It’s just that Americans aren’t in agreement as to whether the current arrangement with OPEC is a net good or a net bad.

I agree, of course, that my assessment is simplified. There’s always a host of variables.

Until OPEC agrees to Iran’s demands to change to Yuan, they’ll still settle in USD. So at this point, it’s just background noise.

Yes, there are ripple effects. Yes, people will go hungry (hungrier?). Freight costs increase. Less travel. Everything that depends on that sweet, sweet crude will increase in cost.

Again, this doesn’t affect Trump and his cronies. They have money. They don’t care about the average American and they never did. They don’t care about any other citizen of the world unless that citizen is hideously wealthy AND willing to eat at the same table.

It’s outrageous, of course. But this situation didn’t just magically create itself. It’s been the norm since OPEC was formed. Our global economy depends on oil, which means every person’s well-being depends on it. The solution is energy independence, but it’s really difficult to get people excited about solar panels. They would much rather see bombs and bullets on TV.

If the relationship is worth salvaging, you can meet her halfway. It will take a LOT of work on your part. A lot of compromise. You’ll probably end up feeling suffocated and you’ll probably lie to her a lot, to make her feel better.

“Mom, I want to do better by you. I want you to be proud of me. I’m not saying I believe everything in the Bible, but I want to ask you some things. About sin and God. I’m not promising to change, but I promise to keep an open mind.”

Something like that. Then, for topic, ask her to describe a situation where she felt sinful, and exactly what she did to avoid it.

Basically, you are putting her in a position to be a mentor but ONLY if she shows vulnerability and shares with you her weaknesses. This changes the dynamic of your relationship, puts you on equal footing. Now she is a sinner too.

Most likely, if she takes the bait, she will tell you about a very small sin. “Oh, I wanted to slap that cashier, but I prayed and God took all the violence away from me.”

Start picking away, theologically speaking. “So…did you actually sin? Is just thinking about something a sin? Is that really the worst thought you’ve ever had? Have you ever actually sinned, like in real life?” Make it seem like you understand nothing about how sin really works. Encourage her to give personal examples.

Of course, the conversation might go a totally different direction. Just take it where it goes. Never escalate, always treat her with respect when talking about religion. At any point, when you’ve hit a brick wall, just stop.

Wait for her to finish talking. Look thoughtful. Meet her eyes. Open your mouth to speak and then close it. Pause again. Then say “I need to think about that. And maybe read…” Walk out of the room. Pop your head back in. Say “Thank you Mom, for taking me seriously.”

It’s worth noting that I moved out of my parents’ house as soon as I graduated high school to get away from bullshit like this. In the long run, I might have been happier to find a compromise and learn to live with my mom’s nut beliefs and self-righteousness. Best of luck!

You can actively work on countering the negative effects, so I’d start with just a list of positives. If all the negatives were gone, which country would you choose?

Let’s suppose it’s the USA. You’re uncomfortable there, because of violence and ICE scares, but everything else is fine. You can look at local crime rates, especially gun violence. Find an area/school where these statistics are near-zero. You can mitigate the ICE risk by retaining an immigration lawyer and making sure that all your paperwork is in order.

Make the same type of list with Japan and China. What would you need to do to mitigate the xenophobia/ethnic differences? (Are you already fluent in both languages?)

You also mention finances, which should probably be near the top of the list. Figure out a realistic cost for your entire time at school, then work with your family to understand what’s doable and what stretches them past the breaking point.

So…is this about how her religious beliefs are affecting HER life?

Or is it more about how her religious beliefs are affecting your relationship with her?

I don’t believe in any of this shit - but your mom does, so that’s how we have to approach the problem. If religion got her to this point, religion can dig her back out of it.

"Mom, I want to talk about God. Like, a serious talk about serious stuff. I’m concerned that you are trying shoulder a HUGE emotional and spiritual burden right now, all by yourself. It’s too big a load. You need to put some of it down.

All this sin around us? All this evil? It’s what God wanted, right? God created all of humanity and, through Satan, put sin in their hearts.

But after thousands of years, God saw that humanity needed a broader message, a message that could be understood by all people of the world, not just the Israelites. So he sent his son with an update. And Jesus tells us to take care of those things within our power and leave the rest to God.

Mom, for your own sake, please think on this. Pray on it. Talk to your friends at church about it. God doesn’t want you taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s too much to bear."

Maybe grab a Chrisian bible and show her the following, she’d probably love it if you did a little bible study with her:

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV): “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”.

Psalm 55:22 (NIV): “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken”.

Psalm 81:6 (NLT): “I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks”.

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV): “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’”.

Isaiah 10:27 (KJV): “…the burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and thy yoke from off thy neck…”.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV): Encourages prayer over worry, promising that God’s peace will guard hearts and minds.

Yes, divorce is often considered a sin. And…?

The great thing about Christianity is that sin is expected, anticipated and in some ways, even celebrated.

The forgiveness of sin is a foundational Christianity principle. IMHO, it’s also why that religions is so popular, especially evangelical Christianity.

Here’s the gist: Humans are evil beings, filled with sin, each and every one of us. You WILL end up sinning and at that point, you can ask forgiveness. If you are sincere, God will forgive you. YAY! The burden of guilt is now lifted and you can go about your day.

This is why Christians can do horrible things and then walk away unphased. They have a get of jail free card. When/if they start to feel guilty about their deeds, they just ask forgiveness.

I’m not being flippant - this process satisfies a deep psychological need that many people seem to have. They want to be a good, empathetic person - but they are greedy and selfish and jealous, just like the rest of us. The Christian religion taps into this common trait and leverages it to the absolute max.

Condensing some information for discussion here (and thanks for providing the archive link!):

It’s not clear what further tools President Donald Trump has to keep global oil prices from surging in the near term – other than fully reopening the strait.

The situation is even more extreme in liquefied natural gas. The Strait of Hormuz typically accounts for about a fifth of global supply…The US is the world’s biggest LNG exporter, and its domestic gas market is relatively insulated from the war due to its massive production.

So…why would Trump want to reopen the Straight? Keeping oil in short supply keeps the petrodollar dominant. And it increases the value of domestic oil/natural gas.

In short, Trump has no reason to ease gas prices. The effects on the upper class are minimal, and he’s shown that he absolutely does not care about the economic impact of his policies upon the working class.

A very informative article, but (as always seems to be the case with major news outlets) a bit short on analysis and clarity.

You forgot another variable, an important one.

“You” are not “You”. Most (all?) atoms inside you are different than they once were. You are cycling through them as your body breaks down and repairs itself. Brain, teeth and eyes are about the only stable organs. The rest cycles, even your bones. And, yes, your penis.

The skin cells covering your penis, just like the rest of your body, last about a month. If you masturbate regularly, maybe faster.

So that’s one penis per month worth of skin cells, just floating around your house. And then your friend comes over, asks for a glass of water. A small mote of dust sits in the glass, invisible to the naked eye. You fill it, he drinks it.

Yeah, that’s right. Your buddy just swallowed your cock. I mean, for purposes of this absurd discussion, anyway.

I’m that lazy on a daily basis. I’m just not that comfortable, dammit, and probably never will be.

It’s a statement. It needs no response.

1. Maybe.
2. No. Because biology is not a black/white science. There are shades of gray. If you define male as “XY” , then what is a person born “XXY”? What if that person is born with both a penis and vagina?
3. It’s not a logical statement to begin with, it’s a statement of taxonomy, a classification. It’s like saying “How do you argue with someone who thinks red and pink are the same color?” You don’t. They see what they see.
4. “woman” is a gender (a sociological term, not a biological classification).

And, of course, I have MUCH more to say on the subject. But, ya know, gotta start the conversation somewhere…

Good questions, keep 'em coming!

the main value proposition of crypto is permissionless peer-to-peer payments.

I think a lot of people, including myself, expected a more user-friendly experience. And what many of us realized is that a peer-to-peer payment system is a lot of work and risk for the user. Everything looks unpolished and sketchy. You don’t know if you’ve installed the right software. There’s no FDIC insuring the money, and the FBI is going to laugh if you say that you accidentally sent your life savings to the wrong crypto address.

I guess what I’m saying is that I started to realize all the labor involved in secure fiat monetary systems. For me, as someone without a lot of money or any real reason to transfer my money electronically beyond paying bills, the effort just didn’t seem worth it.

So, yeah, that’s the reason I just parked my cash in Coinbase and let it grow. The risk and the hassle of actually utilizing a peer-to-peer system didn’t seem to have much of a reward.

Support groups.

Seeing a therapist is a great idea, but most people can only afford to go a few times a month, if that.

Support groups are cheaper (or free) and they accomplish the same thing, albeit without the focus being solely on yourself.

And variable. You can be highly intelligent today, but in ten years? A dumbass.

Modern media can turn a person’s mind to mush. People who stay sharp are the people who keep reading (books, not memes and comments!), who challenge themselves to learn new useless things, who stay active in mind and body.

I think we’ve all seen our fair share of people go through this as they age. They find a comfort zone and become programmed by their routine.

A small nitpick - always take inflation into account. “$5 million inflation-adjusted for 2025”.

It seems like a small thing, but setting a non-inflation adjusted amount is how good systems are undermined. For example, Medicare/Medicaid.

Medicare had some inflation adjustments built in - but it was for things like premiums and deductibles. In other words, the cost adjustments that fall on the consumer. Every year, the premiums go up, based on inflation.

Meanwhile, doctor reimbursements are NOT inflation adjusted. Thus, Medicare gets more expensive over time but doesn’t deliver the same quality of service (because the doctor reimbursements have less buying power).

Politicians use this trick ALL THE TIME, to gain the support of older voters while fucking younger voters over. They introduce a service that’s fully funded, but designed to enshitify over the coming decades.