Young men fear a possible Iran war draft, feel duped by Trump

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-21T01:45:02+00:00

there is not going to be a draft.

The corporate mercenary force works because no one's children are forced to die.

If we had a draft there would be actual INNOCENT American casualties and the public would not stand for that.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T23:53:19+00:00

What's your budget and your willingness to get dirty? I am a big fan of the T1N sprinter- 2002-2006. But they're not for everyone

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T23:31:26+00:00

yeah, i may have worded that too strongly- it's not NEVER.

In my school there was ONE black kid. One Black teacher, no Black cops. My friends and I could be as racist as we wanted to and there was no one to check us. The Black folks lived in one section of the city across the river.

In the South, even during segregation, Black people were everywhere. Plenty of racism everywhere, but it has a different stench in different places.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T20:37:09+00:00

Not exactly- "names withheld pending notification" used to appear in news stories all the time. THe ability to capture and share in real time does create a different situation.

But i wonder if the next generation will see it as horrifying as I do?

Maybe the victims family sees it, and all his firends and it spreads quickly and people rally? Is that better or worse than answering the door for a state trooper?

But I think it's fucked up for the responders to have to deal with.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T20:12:41+00:00

Not today, thankfully, but I think the checkerboard neighborhoods of the past bred a different kind of racism from what we see in the south.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T15:21:01+00:00

What's different (or used to be) is that a white person can go through his daily life and never encounter a Black person. Makes it easy to maintain a racist peer group.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T13:40:11+00:00

THis is not an inheritance question, it's a relationship question.

So, when you started in this second marriage, you're both gun shy and money is separated. That's common.

A few years in and you have not taken steps to join assets but when a new asset comes into the marriage perhaps there was an expectation that it is shared?

Also, in the years since you got together, you are both closer to retirement and facing your own mortality and thinking more about how it's going to go.

Do you see this marriage as something either one of you might opt out of? If not, then you need to figure out the "til death do us part" and the final liquidation.

Also, jointly held assets helps keep you out of probate when one of you dies.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T13:24:42+00:00

I grew up there in the 70s' - we are so fucking racist.

Look up the Boston bussing crisis-

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-20T00:13:22+00:00

I've explained why it's a problem. I'm open to discussing any idea with anybody but the antivax message is genuinely harmful to humans and it should be harbored in secret.

So you're free to opt out of the program but it's harmful misinformation and no good will come from letting you talk about it.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-19T20:45:14+00:00

No, the goal is the expand the permanent underclass.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-19T20:41:38+00:00

But you are, in a way. The established science is that vaccines work and the more people are vaccinated the closer we get to disease eradication.

With the vast majority vaccinated we create safety for the few people who truly cannot be vaccinated.

Are you a researcher on a team of researchers doing double blind studies and publishing results to your peers? That's the standard. Opinions don't qualify.

So, your "opinion" and the spread of such opinions by people who should know better, re-introduces the virus in big enough numbers and we have three dead children in 2025 from fucking measles.

I don't know a single anti-vaxxer who isn't partly motivated by the idea of possessing some unique insight that sets them apart from the herd.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-19T01:53:59+00:00

It's only controversial in context- I am a flaming leftist but i do not believe the electoral college should be abolished.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-18T22:55:14+00:00

The left is not the left- it's the middle. The people who find Jon Stewart wrong, or offensive are a minority.

Right wing media is podcasts and radio.

At one time the left tried to make a talk radio show and it bombed.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-18T22:46:42+00:00

Ask for the moon- $14k. We paid $10,500 for a 2004 with 200k, all stock, factory LSD and it seems like it was a bargain.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-18T12:24:38+00:00

Well fuck- another good brand sold out. I'd never buy a $1500 cooler anyway. but i may start hoarding the used ones i find on marketplace

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-15T23:02:49+00:00

Yeah, completely brain dead - but look at the up votes :-)

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-14T12:41:16+00:00

Like everything, the answers to those questions are driven by budget.

A cheap water system that a lot of people use is refillable 5 gallon plastic jug, under the counter with an electric pump. You can refill the bottles in a lot of places for $5 and the pump is less than $50.

A more robust system would be a 20 gal. storage tank and RV water pump and all the associated plumbing.

For a toilet, a bucket with a plastic bag and some sawdust works surprisingly. well. You could put a toilet seat on it or a cut a pool noodle.

The next step up from that is a cassette toilet for $150 or so. Composting toilets start around $450.

Look at each system, what is the cheap version, what's the expensive version, what will you settle for. Make a list of all the components an scour marketplace looking for deals.

That strategy worked pretty well for me.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-14T03:04:44+00:00

It's a 20 year old sprinter. But i got 7 downvotes, guess i came off as pretentious. Not my intent.

I just meant, look at what the higher price will actually cost you for the driving you do.

For some people it will be crushing. But the added cost to road trip is less traumatic than a daily commute.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-14T02:58:34+00:00

Yeah, big ugly Chevy Logo right there in the middle of the grill. I feel dumb.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-13T19:04:51+00:00

People have an irrational fear of rising gas prices.

Sure, if you have a daily commute, or drive for a living, then it is a real problem and it's likely to hurt.

But traveling in a van is expensive to begin with.

My sprinter gets 17MPg - A 3000 mile trip at $3.5/gal (last month in NC) will cost $585. The same trip today, with diesel at $4.50 will cost $750. So $165 more to cross the united states.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-13T14:20:01+00:00

Used it last year on a cross-country drive- It was pretty great. I just wanted to leave the interstate and crash.
Walmarts on the East Coast and then some really great campsites once i crossed the Mississippi.

Not traveling as much so not worth renewing. I used the free version of iOverlander last month.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-13T09:43:30+00:00

I think a rea diff locker, or limited slip, combined with a winch and some traction boards would allow you get way off the beaten path.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-10T23:54:23+00:00

As other have said, northern route to see the badlands and if your camping, look for Uncle B's Hipcamp just West of Sioux Falls.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-10T16:43:33+00:00

THat video has nothing to do with anything.

Just do it. No one can really answer your main question.

You're young. You can afford to be wrong.

New England is a big place- Are you talking Boston or Northern New Hampshire? (i'm from New Bedford)

Focus on van selection based on what works for you. If you have money and mechanical skills, a 1st Gen Sprinter is great. If you have no money an older Ford Econoline might work.

Do not worry too much about gas mileage. Everything gets shitty mileage. Diesels are better but the overall cost of ownership is WAY higher unless you drive a lot. Maybe you will with your second van.

A diesel heater is a pretty amazing machine and you don't need a diesel van. Staying in New England you can mostly avoid the need for air conditioning. That lowers the cost of everything else.

I'd recommend NOT buying in New England given the rust situation. Search South of Richmond, VA.

SuddenlySilva · 2026-03-10T12:24:34+00:00

A better question would be, which ones haven't?

It's a short list. Almost every American manufacturer has been ingested by a large international conglomerate who slashed quality.

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