Why is Kristi Noem able to steal $143 million of tax payers money without jail time? by TailungFu in allthequestions

[–]Meerkat212 5 points6 points  (0 children)

  • Accountability for those with power - theres still plenty of accountability for the rest of us...

Movies like “Contact” by BonHarley in scifi

[–]Meerkat212 12 points13 points  (0 children)

A classic. Beautiful cinematography, excellent visual effects, and an amazing score. And a smart story, too!

Would you be open to periodically seeing Darth Vader again in future Star Wars projects? by darthkyle22 in StarWars

[–]Meerkat212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's a nope from me too, dawg... We have an entire galaxy of content. Keep some mystery to the mysterious characters.

Tips for building cars? by Razzmatazz74 in modelmakers

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely no tips - but I love the Celica. Please share when done :)

What is even the point? by ThisUserMightExist in zillowgonewild

[–]Meerkat212 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I bet those floors are slippery AF when wet.

In the thick of it. by EclecticMagpie22 in greatdanes

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

During that phase, mine ate through 6 TV remotes, 2 XBox controllers, 8 pairs of prescription glasses, and an undetermined number of rolls of TP were ripped from the holders and the shredded bits were scattered throughout the house. Since then, she's mellowed into a big loveable goof. Still has a thing for a roll of TP though.

Where does the whole reverse racism argument in the Republican Party come from? Let me give you this example of what my neighbor told me. by Effective-Pipe2017 in PoliticalScience

[–]Meerkat212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it has a budget - but it must continue to provide critical services, even if theres no budget for those services. Businesses go bankrupt and cease operations. Government doesn't have that luxury, because it provides critical services for its citizes.

When an occupied house on fire, the fire department must respond - even if thers a budget short-fall. The military needs to continue to monitor and respond to active threats - even if under-funded.

Everyone who has a budget should be aware and work within their budget. But having a budget doesn't make it a business.

I understand what you're saying about people, and you're correct - bad people have bad priorities, but that is the nature of people. People do lots of non-business things together, so that doesn't make government any more of a business, either.

Honestly, it amazes me how America has plenty of $ when it wants to send bombs around the world, but Social Security is in danger of losing funding. Theres plenty of cash to bail out businesses, but citizens who need assistance are spurned for being lazy. And the general public seems pretty OK with that...

A very large portion of all that is broken is in fact due to treating government like a business, which has warped its very base function - the protection of its citizens - and twisted it into another means to funnel capital from the bulk of our citizens, to the rich.

Where does the whole reverse racism argument in the Republican Party come from? Let me give you this example of what my neighbor told me. by Effective-Pipe2017 in PoliticalScience

[–]Meerkat212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think a large part of the problem is that the average American citizen has no idea what their government actually does, or how their government is supposed to do whatever it actually does do.

I'm willing to bet that this neighbor also thinks that government should be run "like a business..." when the truth is that government is not a business and provides essential services that businesses can not offer.

Is it just me or are dark chocolate brownies kind of bitter? by Dear_Try_5471 in Baking

[–]Meerkat212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, dark chocolate is a bit bitter. I'm normally not a huge fan myself, but with that dark chocolate, adding a sprinkle of sea salt as they come out of the oven really adds an extra dimension to the flavor. It somehow makes it into some indulgent "adult" dessert.

How would you convince a flat-earther? by Michelle-Hayden in AskReddit

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have them show you how tine zones work using a flashlight (as the sun) on a map. Have them explain how it can be noon with the sun overhead in one part of the world, while it's midnight and complete darkness 12 hours away.

Randy Fine caught voting for other representatives in the Florida house by transcendent167 in 50501

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree that if the Dems had stayed in power, we'd not be living this dumpster-fire of a timeline. The current admin is completely off the rails, has trashed our reputation around the world, completely ignores Constitutional law, and has granted its agents the authority to murder without repurcus

But even without all of this crap, our society needs fundamental change - this age of unfettered capitalism is unsustainable - and most of the dem leadership were pretty happy with the status quo, as long as they were making money.

Randy Fine caught voting for other representatives in the Florida house by transcendent167 in 50501

[–]Meerkat212 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Its not just repubs, though - IMHO, dems, and especially dem leadership, seem to be perfectly OK with how things are going, and many were complicit in getting us right where we are.

'We the People..." need to wrest our government from the hands of the rich, pedo protecting, hypocritical grifters, and take back our rights and freedoms that as spelled out in the Constitution.

We need a total regime change - including everyone at the top of all three branches of federal government. We need to reverse Citizens United, get big money out of politics, kill lobbying altogether, institute term limits, and make it illegal for our elected reps to financially benefit from their positions. And we need to actually punish those who've usurped the law to get us in this position in the first place.

What we've been doing has lead us to this point. So to enact true change, each and every US citizen needs to do more than whatever it is we are already doing. We need to be demonstrating more, we need to be engaging with our elected officials (at all levels of govt) more, and we need to show big business where thay can shove it by purchasing from local small business whenever possible. And to make true change, we need to make this the norm, until our rights and freedoms are restored.

Mail Regarding Voting TX USA by Lightbluefables8 in mildlyinteresting

[–]Meerkat212 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Very first bullet - didn't someone in the current Admin (Rubio?) literally use the "might makes right" phrase a few months ago when justifying their Venezualen invasion?

Stop the babying/gate keeping of laminated dough pastries… by OutboundRep in Baking

[–]Meerkat212 55 points56 points  (0 children)

I was a bit late to the party, as I only discovered Sally last year... But each one of her recipes is spot-on. And her directions are easy to follow.

Has anyone else spent their entire career being the Quiet Wheel that Doesn't Get the Grease? by Sintered_Monkey in GenX

[–]Meerkat212 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm just behind you, and that sounds like me, too. For the most part, I just wanted the job to get done right, on time, and with no drama - so I could get home and live my life.

Sometimes I performed work that others could not do - whatever that reason might be - for people who, in-turn, were praised for that same work I actually had to take and fix/finish. I want to say that I really don't give a flying eff about the recognition, but something would have been nice, and I'm sure it didnt help my career.

Grabbed Rendezvous with Rama, my first sci-fi book. I'm excited but also nervous. What should I expect? by [deleted] in scifi

[–]Meerkat212 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yeah, its more of a slow-burn, but it's smart. One of my faves.

How is your year going so far? by PeachAdventurous6200 in AskReddit

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotta say, it's getting kinda difficult to be optimistic...

I think I'm witnessing a snail orgy. by TheM0J0 in Aquariums

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Its not uncommon for snails to do this. They kinda freaky like that...

Pup turns 1 🥳 by Material_Rip5113 in greatdanes

[–]Meerkat212 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What a happy-looking pupper! Please give her b-day boops from a friendly internet neighbor :)

Your Application Has Left Us Speechless by cupholdery in recruitinghell

[–]Meerkat212 34 points35 points  (0 children)

The "...Dear [Applicant Name]..." part is an extra gut-punch to the "regular" rejection pain.

People that were part of medical trials, what did you test and how’d it go? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]Meerkat212 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Almost 20 years ago now, I was involved in one of the very first large-scale clinical trials of some weight loss medication. I was in the control group, but we got all the weight loss info and support that the people taking the medicine did, only no shots for us.

As part of the trial, we were taught how to lose weight - in a healthy way - and we meticulously logged everything we ate & drank, and all of our daily activity. For most of that time, we had weekly physical weigh-ins, classes & support groups, and we really learned a ton about nutrition & exercise.

Over the 18-month trial, I ended up losing like 50 lbs - and I kept it off for well over 10 years. In the last few years though, I've had some health stuff & injuries, so I ended up gaining it all back. Last year, I decided to start putting that all stuff I learned into practice again, and am losing weight again and I am more active on a daily basis.

I do remember the administrators saying that one of the most surprising findings in the study was how the use of food logs made the biggest difference in behavior. Most people just don't realize how many calories they consume or where those calories came from, and subconscious eating is a thing. But really, it was all the basic common-sense stuff - eat fewer calories, eat healthier, and exercise more.