rational_lib

Political power and purchasing power are just two kinds of power. And when those two powers merge - as with wealthy kings of the past or modern politically active business elites - bad things happen.

My dad’s friend did this for years, bought his kids a home and “rented” it to them. He was able to write off a lot of repairs/renovations and improvements, while they wrote off their rent money, which was just the mortgage payment.

But then doesn't he have to pay income taxes on the rent? Where if it stayed his house he couldn't write off the repairs, but any money he paid for the mortgage is tax-free.

What's the principle behind Russia being allowed to prevent Ukraine or another country from entering alliances? Why doesn't this same principle apply to the Baltic states? And if Russia were to successfuly capture all of Ukraine, would it then have a right to demand similar neutrality from Moldova, Romania, and other states it would then borders? And does the same principle apply the other way - i.e. would it have been just for NATO to say Belarus can't ally with Russia when Lukashenko took over and invaded them?

And of course Trump is a million times worse than the dead CEO in every respect. But the vice-signalling of a successful murder makes it cooler to kill the CEO than to vote against Trump.

US and Ukraine puppet rulers 100% instigated the war, and are the one who want it to continue.

So you're saying Russia doesn't want the war to continue? So why are they fighting in Ukraine then? What are their actual goals and when will the invasion stop?

It is categorically false that Russia is interested in ruling all of Ukraine.

What evidence makes you so sure, and how do you explain the fact that Russia tried to invade Kyiv? Or do you disagree that Russia tried to invade Kyiv?

And the shoes (which are abnormally large) don't look like any work boots I've ever seen, resembling trail running shoes but bigger. The laces seem to be oddly non-existent and instead the straps for lacing them appear to connect with each other.

AI can get reflections right, just when it doesn't it can be very creepy.

From page 22:

This quarter also saw the three highest ridership days ever on the Las Vegas Loop during SEMA, carrying a record 28,000 passengers in one day. “Our goal for the free Loop service around the LVCC campus is to improve customer service, reduce attendees’ travel times, and provide a Vegas Only experience,” Reisman says. Our transportation and customer experience departments are already working directly with the building’s shows to educate attendees about the unique benefits of zipping from one side of our campus to the other in a free Loop car—shaving up to 45 minutes from their travel time.

I tried to find the source of this and all I can find is "webpronews" which says:

With $75 million in annual revenue, 28,000 daily passengers, and 150 Teslas in operation, this underground transportation network is redefining how cities think about mobility.

So if it's 28000 x 365, that's $7.50 per trip. Of 1.7 miles. That's suspiciously double the $3.75 listed on the Vegas loop site, which also offers a day pass for $5.00.

Still, even $37.5 to $50 million is some pretty significant revenue (not to be confused with profit). Does it carry 28,000 riders per day though? As best as I can tell, this is what a publication from the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority claims is the record ridership, set during a Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association convention. Even ignoring the suspiciously round number, the publication notes that rides were free on that day, and obviously it's blatantly wrong to apply a record total to a daily average.

So essentially, the tweet is a dishonest interpretation based on another dishonest interpretation of dubious statistics. Lesson is, everything on Twitter is bullshit - emphasis on every. Even subparts of bullshit on Twitter are still bullshit, often layered on other bullshit. Twitter is the last asshole of the human centipede of bullshit.

Vernon Wells, in Commando. Pretty much the most McBain movie Arnold made.

It's been anticipated throughout the campaign, but kind of got overshadowed by all the other horrible stuff about Trump. RFK Jr. is the biggest anti-vaxxer in the world. Trump ran with him openly to get his cult on his side. This is the obvious result.

It's interesting that RFK Jr., the head of HHS, is now actively preparing to withdraw the polio vaccine. And the story is "Ooh, Republican drama!"

Our government has become a reality TV show, but it's still doing things that affect living and dying. The media is the problem, they made this happen to sell ad space.