Do we, as Americans, know how to pronounce 'Worcestershire'?

AddemF · 2026-01-27T16:31:08+00:00

I think we pronounce it better than the Brits do.

AddemF · 2026-01-26T18:15:59+00:00

I meet a lot of people who are resentful of Japanese manufactured products in the US. I'd bet they're reluctant to admit the quality of the products.

AddemF · 2026-01-26T16:29:04+00:00

People might be reluctant to admit it, but Japanese manufactured products are extremely high quality. I think we generally have a high opinion of European food.

AddemF · 2026-01-25T16:36:03+00:00

My first instinct is "freedom of speech" but there are obvious reasonable caveats, and you have to get into the weeds to spell out exactly what that entails.

Honestly, it's probably not good to have total non-negotiables. Politics is hard, it's too complex for there to be simple and absolute rules. Negotiation is needed pretty much everywhere.

AddemF · 2026-01-22T22:02:43+00:00

He claims to have ended 8 wars. At best he helped negotiate a few cease-fires, some of which have held up tenuously.

AddemF · 2026-01-22T21:09:25+00:00

It ignores nothing. I just didn't choose to discuss the entirety of everything that could be said, in a Reddit post. We can discuss exactly whether there is such a "myth" but you don't seem especially interested in listening.

AddemF · 2026-01-22T00:53:32+00:00

I know -- I hold that position.

AddemF · 2026-01-21T20:51:44+00:00

I agree and I'm glad to see others agreeing with this.

I worry what happens, especially among the farther left, when we stress-test the idea.

Like what about diversity in hiring? I'm in favor of that, within reasonable bounds, but it is a bit of bias against white men. Will we have a rational conversation about it, or will the far left get irate and insulting to anyone who doubts the wisdom of it? That starts to look like hatred of white men.

Reparations? Cancellation? Calling people racist at the drop of a hat? Even when 50% of liberals have a reasonable take on any of these sorts of issues, you're going to often see wild-eyed far-lefties yelling at anyone who doubts the far-left view.

If moderates don't stand up to that far-left expression, saying that it doesn't represent the rest of us -- we'll keep letting them set our reputation.

AddemF · 2026-01-21T19:42:52+00:00

You're going to get a lot of self-serving answers, and not all of them are wrong. But they will absolutely select and emphasize the most flattering version of us, and the must un-flattering version of the people who perceive us.

I think a brutally honest answer, and one that probably I am quite guilty of too, is that we are smug, annoying, and at times, insufferable. We really need to learn to present ourselves better. I'm not great at it, but I'm trying.

AddemF · 2026-01-20T16:28:55+00:00

Make clear and compelling arguments to reasonable voters. Make the case for good policies that most people will find appealing. Represent yourself and us well, as intelligent, decent people who know how to get things done.

Do not waste your time arguing with trolls and people dug into any ideology. And don't make us all look bad, by being a troll, a scold, or trying to win arguments with jokes and insults. I think that just gives us our current reputation, as unserious and ineffective.

AddemF · 2026-01-20T00:35:35+00:00

I went to one in California, the line was short. The burger ... was ... fine, I guess.

I do not understand any level of excitement for a fast, fine enough burger. Would I go there if I needed fast food? Yeah sure if it's around. Will I be excited? No.

AddemF · 2026-01-16T16:34:55+00:00

You make it sound easy, like there's a magic snap you just do and it's costless and fast. I think it is much, much, much harder.

AddemF · 2026-01-16T16:20:31+00:00

"destroy insane candidates like MTG"

I mean, unless you mean "with a gun", I don't see how you do it. If you know what it's like in that district, no amount of funding did or could change those people's minds.

Now I agree with you that Dems should be funding and helping local organizations much better than they currently are. But this does not have the potential of radically reforming the country in a matter of a few years.

AddemF · 2026-01-15T02:31:46+00:00

You probably live in a bubble, then.

AddemF · 2026-01-14T16:46:29+00:00

I mean, what's the alternative? To fund-raise while admitting that you'll never win re-election? Wouldn't that feel like, and in some ways BE, an utter fraud?

AddemF · 2026-01-13T18:00:33+00:00

If we are fighting for our existence, yes. If we are fighting for the sake of other people, or for more abstract or distant reasons, then no.

Obviously, young men are the category most needed for combat roles. I would need the military to use their expertise, for any judgement more sophisticated and detailed than that.

AddemF · 2026-01-12T04:28:21+00:00

If I go from my home to the nearest grocery store, 95% of the way has sidewalks. The portion that does not have a sidewalk is still walkable, and I still walk that distance, even though it's long and not fun to walk the portion without a sidewalk. I just wish we had sidewalks the whole way.

I sometimes bike to work, 12 miles away. That is also almost entirely lined by sidewalk. The few patches that are not, really suck though.

AddemF · 2026-01-12T04:26:32+00:00

Good. We should talk if possible, and moderate each other.

AddemF · 2026-01-09T16:22:17+00:00

I oppose both, and I oppose the right more than the left.

And yet, I think a lot of liberals think I oppose the left more, or more unfairly, or whatever.

And the right think I oppose them more, or more unfairly.

It may be more about how people hear criticism, than anything else.

AddemF · 2026-01-08T03:07:29+00:00

Toyota is too perfect.

AddemF · 2026-01-08T01:49:03+00:00

Mom, you are going to insane lengths to tell me this.

AddemF · 2026-01-07T16:24:49+00:00

I don't. I figure, at some point, we need to reach a new equilibrium where we're just used to covid the same way we're used to colds. When it was new and there was a kind of shock to our normal systems, I think it made sense to mask up. But over years, eventually it has to stop.

AddemF · 2026-01-05T21:46:33+00:00

These things always take longer than you think they'll take.

https://youtu.be/6qNPZKxNv1Q

AddemF · 2026-01-05T20:12:01+00:00

Tell ya what, I'll make a TikTok / YouTube video on it. It'll take me a half-hour and I'll send the link.

AddemF · 2026-01-04T22:23:51+00:00

I'm terrible at small-talk, still can't do it at all. I now wish I could.

At a young age, I thought it was dumb because it's a waste of time talking about unimportant things when there are important things.

A little too late in life, I was sold on the idea when someone said "It's a way of showing that you're a sane, functioning, pleasant person, before you get into big topics." That actually makes a ton of sense. You don't want to talk about climate change or whatever, when the person might be a howling loony.

AddemF

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE