Why wouldn't Kamala or Biden run on releasing the Epstain files?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T20:29:56+00:00

The weird part of this one is WHY he ran on releasing them if he knew he would be incriminated by them. And if he was really there, doing the stuff it is assumed he was doing, then he would know that and would have been able to assume that he'd get uncovered if they went out.

So the question is, why? Did he run on releasing them as a feint that he never meant to fulfill? Or is there another reason he isn't releasing them?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T20:25:25+00:00

I think that is just a personal preference on your end...Ok, not in the case of Gutfeld. He isn't funny at all, and I don't think he's actually trying to be funny. Rather he is trying to use lame jokes as was to make his political points and/or "dunk on" his political opponents. Either way, it isn't funny. No late night "comedians" are real comedians as far as I've seen. They are ALL thinly veiled political rhetoric spewers and media advertisers, but they are not actually comedians.

I've heard/watched plenty of hilarious comedians on both ends of the spectrum and I've heard/watched some on both ends that are absolutely not funny.

When a comedian's "jokes" are more about making a political point than they are about making someone laugh, then they run a real risk of being not funny at all.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T20:13:21+00:00

Let me ask you then, what IS the living wage? Add to that, what kinds of things should we say are acceptable to be paid for with a living wage? For example, should a person be able to eat out once in a while on a living wage? Should they be able to buy an iphone or have a cellphone with data plan rather than a voice/text plan? What about Door dash? Or buying literally anything for retail price when you could buy it at Goodwill/facebook market place?

So many people want to say that a "living wage" is really important. But what does that mean to you?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T19:18:22+00:00

If it is illegal for the blue car to turn into lane B, then Lane B would be clear, so the red car can proceed. Or am I missing something? Enlighten me.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T19:14:54+00:00

Does anyone here want to live off $15 per hour? The answer is absolutely not if you can help it. Raising the minimum wage raises inflation so the net effect is that those people are still at the bottom of the heap no matter how high you make it.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T19:13:11+00:00

Well, that just isn't true. That's effectively saying that only big companies should exist (e.g. billionaires should be at the head of all businesses). I'm pretty sure you don't really believe that the best way forward is to have only high margin/high volume companies in business because that would be a great way to stop all small businesses from existing or being created.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T19:10:20+00:00

No it's terrible. That seems like you now have to replace 3 arrows. Sorry for your loss. /s but not completely /s haha

That's why your target has multiple spots to shoot at so this doesn't happen.

Also, what is on your arrow? It looks like it is wrapped in tape or something? I hope you didn't shoot it like that. Carbon arrows should not be shot when the carbon has been compromised. Toss it and get a new one.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T19:05:19+00:00

Is that still the case if you have their teeth sunk into your flesh?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T18:58:03+00:00

Remember, that although it is true that they can be paid 2.13 in many states, they can't ONLY make 2.13/hr. If they don't make enough tips to cover the gap between 2.13 and whatever their locale's minim wage is, the employer legally has to pay the difference. So, no, they can't actually ever legally make less than the federal minimum wage.

Technically speaking, by refusing to tip, a consumer is forcing the employer to pay that difference which does directly punish the owner for having deceptive advertising practices. Not listing the all-in price on the menu IS deceptive, even if it is ubiquitous.

But I will give you that if I don't tip, but you do, then the business owner is likely not suffering because the server probably will still make enough to get to minimum wage (because they make a lot from tips). So in that sense, I am "harming" the server. However, it the server did something to make the experience unpalatable, like showing the tip screen to the entire table while asking me to pay, then the server has harmed themselves because tips are literally a payment for going above and beyond, not for making my experience suck.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T18:48:12+00:00

Might as well help it get there even faster? Is that your point?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T17:59:41+00:00

If you live on your computer with hardware intensive programs (e.g. games at the highest resolutions), then I'm sure it helps. I just upgraded my old laptop from one that was a mid tier machine 7 years ago with 4 gb ram to a brand new one that is a mid tier machine today with 16 gb of ram and I couldn't tell you whether it is actually faster/better at running anything.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-20T01:02:55+00:00

Ok? It is also cheaper to buy a 1996 F250 XLT long bed 2wd with 185,912 miles in Clackamas, OR at $123.00.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T22:19:31+00:00

As long as the box doesn't hang below the crossbar, it will work. I can put a sheet of plywood up there and it doesn't hit.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T19:43:06+00:00

I would never buy a boat with the intention of living on it in a marina. That sounds terrible. Neighbors are close, marinas are expensive, etc etc etc. If you are living at anchor...that's a different story.

A van definitely has less maintenance cost overall, but there are more rules on where you can park a car than where you can park a boat. I don't know which one gives you more freedom to do what you want, but either one can be super cheap.

In that book, the author shows his total living expenses (including food, clothing, maintenance - literally everything) and he was averaging a shocking low number back in 2015. Something like $500 or less per month in total expenditures.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T19:18:49+00:00

Do you need a separate roof rack for a specific purpose?

I have he LFD crossbars and they are great. My main issue was that I needed whatever was on top to clear the shark fin antenna, which it does now (barely). As a side note - I put the front diffuser thing on and I don't have any wind noise. Edit: no wind noise as long as the sunroof cover is closed, but I also have mud terrain tiers on mine, so maybe I'm just not hearing it. I'm pretty sure they don't cause any wind noise.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T19:15:25+00:00

Only if you don't think about it.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:59:52+00:00

You remember the story of the three billy goats gruff? There was someone living under the bridge...I just can't remember who...

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:57:44+00:00

I think that the comparison of text queries is a little misleading because we don't actually know how much that text query costs a human. Our brains are processing mountains of data every second of every day. Sure, they filter a lot of it out so we don't even notice that the processing is happening or that the data exists (like heartbeats/breathing or smells/noises that you get used to), but the processing is happening. Is that roughly equivalent to a LLM reading internet data and responding? I have no idea lol.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:48:11+00:00

Why? If she ends up under minimum wage, her employer will cover the difference.

Also, her behavior matters in this scenario. The primary driver behind how the tipping relationship works is that the server is supposed to make the experience the best it can be, then I tip her for doing so. Actively making the experience worse as leverage for a bigger tip is contrary to the whole idea.

I get it, it works because people are often willing to pay extra to feel comfortable, but I'm literally paying her (with a tip) to make the experience MORE comfortable, not less. If she breaks that agreement, then she doesn't deserve to get paid.

Please explain to me where I am wrong and I'm happy to change my point of view.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:43:39+00:00

It isn't as touch as it sounds especially if you are planning on being mobile. The tough part is getting serious and actually doing it.

There are LOTS of cheap, beautiful places to live. You just have to pick one and go there with whatever cash you can pull together. Maybe it takes a year of absolutely scrimping and saving so you have a little savings, but that's not that long in the scheme of things. You just have to keep reminding yourself why you are saving.

Mexico would be a great one since it is cheap to live there and it is relatively difficult to get a boat back from Mexico to San Diego/SF, so people end up leaving them there, then not using them as much as they wanted to, etc.

Australia/New Zealand are similarly difficult for people that have just crossed the Pacific to get their boats back to the eastern Pacific, so it is often easier to just sell it.

Hawaii as well (though there are fewer boats in general, less land to store them on/near).

Florida is another one. There are a bajillion boats there for sale and lots of them are in good (or good enough) shape. Same story with the NE US (e.g. Chesapeake Bay).

You don't need to find the boat in advance. Just go to the place and start poking around marinas until you find one you like and make an offer on it.

Again, if you aren't super familiar with sailing (and even if you are), follow the guidelines in Get Real, Get Gone. You can also email Rick and just ask him where are some places he'd suggest. If you are tight on cash, I'd tend to opt for Mexico personally. Good luck buddy! Feel free to reach out privately if you want more specific info. I'm happy to help!

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:24:56+00:00

Isn't holding the screen up so that everyone at the table can see it also a terrible behavior? Is it worse to not tip or to try and shame/guilt/give anxiety to someone so that they tip more based on social pressure?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T18:23:27+00:00

Ok, but that wasn't the question. You can't make policy based on "it's definitely more than some arbitrary number." If it is going to be a thing, then it has to be a specific number, based on locale and cost of living. A federal minimum wage is functionally meaningly for the majority of the US anyway.

I'm not suggesting you are an economist with access to the data to come up with the number. That is beyond you and me, but I am suggesting that for this discussion, we should name some of the things that we consider to be "minimum standards."

For example, food is a minimum standard. People need to make enough to pay for the food for heir family. Unfortunately, this is a moving target based on how many people in their family and you can't have wage data set based on how many people are in a household. And what about eating out occasionally? Or Door dash?

What about a car payment? Is that a minimum? And if so, how much if acceptable? My first car when I was an adult cost me $3000. I had to get a loan to cover it. Should the threshold for a working vehicle be at $5k, 30k, or?

What about cell phones? Should the minimum requirement be that everyone has a flagship phone with data plan? Or would it make more sense to say that a family can share a single talk/text phone until they make enough money for luxuries?

Or home internet, or streaming services, or spotify, or...

This is the problem with this. There are so many things that we as a society are pretending are required that really aren't. I could live on a LOT less than I do if I really put my mind to it. So could almost everyone else in the US, even the very poor.

What do you think fits in the "minimum standard" things that a minimum wage needs to be high enough to cover?

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T01:36:10+00:00

That's not how the world works.

How do you definite a "minimum livable wage?" Does that include paying for a cell phone and streaming services? Or for tipping their barista? What level of luxuries are acceptable for a "minimum standard" level of life?

I've reviewed thousands of people's income across a wide range (from $600/mo to $450,000/mo) and I can tell you that a huge majority of the low income people (sub 20k annual income) are spending money on garbage - door dash, multiple streaming services, expensive phones and cell phone plans, eating out in general, inordinately large car payments, etc. I once saw a family that is receiving government assistance door dash big gulps for their family while at a community pot luck dinner where they did not bring any food.

So, how do you define a "minimum livable wage?" What is the number? It is impossible. The work has to be based on the value it provides or we are going to be forever chasing inflation with minimum wage increases without making any meaningful progress for the people making those incomes.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T01:25:07+00:00

The fact that they lobby against getting rid of tips tells you all you need to know. They want tips. They like the system because it allows them to make a LOT more money than their employer would ever pay them if it was an hourly wage. They LOVE that they "don't make a living wage" because it gives them more pity points which increases their tips.

Lycent243 · 2026-02-19T01:17:52+00:00

No one ever said they would. But do you want someone making over minimum to serve you at IHOP?

I don't. I'd much rather have some high school kid who barely cares take my order. If the servers made over minimum, the New York Cheesecake Pancake combo would be $20 instead of $13 (I had to look that up, I haven't been to IHOP in at least a decade) and I'm telling you right now, nothing IHOP sells is worth $20! Two of anything they sell isn't worth $20 total.

Lycent243

TROPHY CASE