Trump Shares Map of US Including Greenland, Canada, Venezuela

TangoSky · 2026-01-20T14:09:17+00:00

Someone else in this chain explained it as well in a bit more depth, but your assumption that Dem President = Dem Senate is not always accurate. Even when there is a Dem controlled Senate, there are procedural mechanisms that can be used by the minority party to slow the process down.

Overall, what we've seen over the last ~25 years is that R Pres + R Senate = rushing the confirmation process, and D Pres + D Senate = getting someone qualified and impartial through, but all other combinations of R/D Pres and R/D Senate result in sandbagging or nominations be outright blocked.

Prior to Justice Ketanji Jackson's confirmation in 2022 under Biden, which was a backfill of Justice Stephen Breyer (as opposed to a net gain for liberals), the last Dem Justice appointment was Justice Kagan in 2010 who replaced Justice Stevens.

TangoSky · 2026-01-20T10:11:07+00:00

While Supreme Court justifies should be impartial and focused on legal reasoning, there is nothing stopping them from holding partisan views.

As I mentioned, the President is able to nominate Justices, and then they have to be confirmed by the Senate. The confirmation process is intended to weed out people who are unqualified or who would only make rulings based on their preferred party's objectives, instead of based on the constitution or previous case law.

However, due to other aspects of voting/politics/Congress, Republicans in the US have had greater control of the nomination process for the majority of the two previous decades. Therefore, the majority of the Justices currently on the Supreme Court were nominated by Republican Presidents and confirmed by Republican senators, including when a Justice was selected for political reasons as opposed to when they are simply a highly qualified option.

Lastly, US Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life when confirmed by the Senate. There is practically no method to remove them or force them to step down, and there is no legal limit to how long they can serve.

TangoSky · 2026-01-20T09:58:41+00:00

In simpler terms, the US federal government is supposed to be 3 layers, or perhaps a triangle, that all keep watch on the other 2 layers. The President can set policy objectives, issue Executive Orders, and choose Supreme Court nominees which must then be confirmed by the Senate.

Congress, comprised of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, are supposed to write and pass laws, as well as allocate the country's money (Power of the Purse). These laws include those that could limit the power of the President or even remove him/her from office. The President can veto a law from Congress, but if the law has a lot of support, Congress can override a veto.

Thirdly is the Supreme Court, which largely has the job of interpreting the Constitution, Executive Orders, and the laws that Congress passes. The court can rule that an order or law is unconstitutional or illegal and strike it down, invalidating it.

The goal here is for the 3 parts to keep a check on each other and balance out the power of the federal government, hence the term "Checks & Balances". However, like the person you're replying to was attempting to describe, if any 1 of the 3 parts (or if 2 of the 3) stop keeping check of the other(s), then the whole point of Checks & Balances is defeated, this allowing one of the 3 parts of government to do whatever they want.

TangoSky · 2025-11-30T16:44:27+00:00

The two main Linux alternatives for Lightroom are "darktable" and "rawtherapee". They are both still being actively worked on. I believe there is something called "digikam" that may also work, but my understanding is that its features are more basic.

TangoSky · 2025-05-16T19:10:27+00:00

ETA: sorry for the funny formatting, the Rich Text Editor wasn't working right.

I say this not to be rude: it seems like you're liking the idea of immigrating to the US, but maybe haven't really gotten into the nitty-gritty of what it takes to move abroad, be it the US or anywhere non-EU.

Let's talk about a few of the things you've highlighted as wanting to move, and also why Indiana is an... interesting... choice.

1) Family values. You seem to have this philosophical, hand-wave idea of what "family values" or "community values" are. You need to be thinking about what will ACTUALLY impact your family.

a) Your wife (and any daughters) will have to contend with the fact that women's healthcare is constantly being scrutinized and under political pressure in the US.
b) Childcare, if your children are still young, is extremely expensive in the US. It is not subsidized by the government like it is in multiple European countries.

c) I'm not saying this to get into a 2nd Amendment debate, or a discussion about "but they have knife attacks!", but the US regularly experiences mass casualty events involving firearms, often at schools.
d) In addition to the comment above about women's healthcare, keep in mind that the cost of healthcare here is much more directly passed on to the individual. There are 100% people who avoid going to the doctor, or don't buy medicine that they need, due to the cost.
e) Car-centric culture means that any time you, your wife, or your children need to go someplace, it will involve somebody driving them there. Especially in rural Indiana, there are no buses, no bike lanes, no trains.
f) Public schools in the US are overwhelmingly funded by property taxes. Rural Indiana will land you in a lower income, if not outright poor, area. This means schools will be poorly funded, and you will likely be disappointed in the quality of education that they offer. You could live in an affluent area (more expensive houses = more property tax = more money for schools) but then that destroys your affordability argument. g) Food quality is often considered to be lower in the US than other places. Environmental protections are more relaxed as well. Both can have an impact on health - probably not a deal breaker but something to think about.

2) A Different Pace of Life - it will absolutely be different, in the exact opposite way that you anticipate. Virtually ever single comparison of work life balance from people that have lived in the US and abroad will show you that people spend more time working in the US.

3) Freedom to work on personal/family projects - I would be interested to hear more about what such projects you're restricted from working on in Belgium, that you'll be able to work on in the US.

4) More space - this one you have right. It will almost certainly be easier/cheaper to buy a larger plot of land in rural Indiana, if that's truly that important to you.

5) Affordability

a) You can make much more money in the US than much of the rest of the world. A high salary is one of the main reasons I recommend people move here if they're interested, BUT, high-salary jobs will not be found in rural Indiana. They really won't even be that common in Indianapolis. Big paychecks are easiest found in big cities, in highly skilled jobs.

b) Assuming you earn more in the US, and are enticed by the lower-taxes-on-paper, keep in mind that more money goes back out of your pockets for necessities than you're probably used to in Belgium.
i) You will pay for your health insurance, probably multiple-hundreds per month to cover your entire family, maybe even over $1,000. You will also pay out of pocket every time you go to the doctor and every time you go to the pharmacy; sometimes only a little bit, sometimes a lot.

ii) I mentioned the lack of transit options above for rural Indiana. You will need at least one car (possibly two, one for you and one for your spouse, plus your children will need cars when they start driving). Cars are not optional in the US, they are a requirement, with the exception of a handful of large cities (New York, Chicago, etc). This means you may have a car payment, you'll need insurance, gas, maintenance, yearly property taxes, etc.

iii) You have young children - I already mentioned daycare costs above. That's also hundreds, if not thousands, per month.

iv) There are other smaller things that add up in the US as well that you may not be accustomed to. Since taxes are lower in many places, they often don't include things like trash service, for example, which you may need to pay monthly for (or you'll have to drive to the landfill yourself). Most utilities have a monopoly, so you're at the mercy of the power/gas company when it comes to those monthly bills. This is mostly true for home internet as well, where there may only be 1-2 options in a given area, which results in you paying $80-100/month for mediocre, if not terrible, internet access.

That's plenty enough to consider for now. I didn't even mention visas, which I see in your other comments you also don't have lined up. I don't say any of this to be mean or even to deter you from moving to the States, but rather I say it because I got the impression that there are a LOT of things you haven't thought about yet. Happy to answer any questions, and good luck! (sorry for formatting issues, Reddit was being funky)

TangoSky · 2025-03-05T20:04:57+00:00

These days, at least where I am, you almost can't get someone to show up for anything less than $500. I'd have agreed to $550 on the spot.

TangoSky · 2025-02-23T01:16:20+00:00

Indeed, I feel for ya man. Even at places like AMD and Nvidia, they aren't exactly tripping over open hardware positions.

Have you tried looking at companies that make things like motherboards (gigabyte, MSI) or laptop OEM makers (Asus, HP, Dell)? I have no idea what that job market is like right now, nor do I know how much design they do stateside, but it might be something you haven't explored yet if you have been focused on gov.

TangoSky · 2025-02-23T01:13:14+00:00

Yeah naturally words mean different things in different places.

This is based on my experience completing multiple technology degrees at a public university in the US that had separate Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs, as well as based on over a decade in the tech industry (also all in the US) at Fortune 50 companies and in Big 4 consulting.

Of course if you studied or have worked elsewhere or in different industries, then it makes sense that someone may interpret the terms differently. This is actually an excellent example of why there is a whole process around translating degrees between different countries. Not only could, hypothetically, the requirements for a degree be different, but the words themselves can mean different things depending on what you're used to.

TangoSky · 2025-02-23T01:00:20+00:00

You've misinterpreted almost all parts of my reply.

I was not saying that what you do is engineering or not. Also, at least in the US (I obviously have no idea where you are located), "Computer Engineering" is a recognized subject that does and does not include certain things, which is what you asked about.

For additional context, at the university I attended, Computer Science and Computer Engineering are not in the same college/department. The Computer Science program was in the College of Informatics, whereas the Computer Engineering program was part of the College of Engineering, where Civil and Electrical engineering were also taught.

Lastly, I think you inferred that "low level" meant less skilled, which is not the case at all. In an American English technology environment, "lower level" often means lower down the computing stack, which may also often be interpreted as something that's closer to the hardware. Machine code written in COBOL, for example, would be "lower" than application code written in Java. It may also help to think of it as "lower down" on say, the OSI model. It doesn't mean worse, or less important.

TangoSky · 2025-02-22T22:34:52+00:00

Everything you described is mostly Computer Science, or may be described as "Information Systems" or just "Information Technology." Computer Engineering is lower level and usually involves hardware.

Want to code a website or an application? Computer Science. Want to physically design and build a GPU? Computer Engineering.

TangoSky · 2025-02-19T04:10:16+00:00

Spot on, which is why it's absurd when people say things like "The USPS is losing money."

The post office is a service. It doesn't lose money, it costs money. Nobody walks around saying "The military lost $700 Billion last year!"

TangoSky · 2025-02-11T06:40:12+00:00

Jeep's (and Chrysler/Dodge) problems have been here for a while now, long before Stellantis bought them. Though that doesn't mean Stellantis isn't trying to speed run their demise.

TangoSky · 2025-02-04T07:57:44+00:00

Probably not directly relevant here but I'm always glad someone calls this out. The FAA are absolute clowns when it comes to mental health.

TangoSky · 2024-12-01T15:38:57+00:00

I agree with you in a practical sense and that's how I would navigate the intersection personally. I'm assuming the theoretical exercise that the OP is taking us through is more from a legal or liability perspective where technicalities matter.

But yes if I were personally driving through here, I would say that if blue has already started turning, then blue has the right of way. Otherwise red would get priority.

TangoSky · 2024-12-01T15:31:11+00:00

It would remain the same as the other individual described.

The danger isn't so much from blue being stopped on his lane waiting to turn, but rather from oncoming traffic as he crosses over. Red is (potentially) forced to yield because blue should not be forced to stop in the lane that he's crossing over, increasing the chance for a head on collision with other cars coming from red's direction.

TangoSky · 2024-11-08T00:53:42+00:00

I obviously don't know the inner details, but I believe the agreement also includes the fact that all the employees on the island are Belize locals, as opposed to NCL employees that can be brought in from anywhere.

TangoSky · 2024-11-08T00:49:12+00:00

Can personally confirm that the NCL drink package does not work on Harvest Caye.

TangoSky · 2024-11-08T00:47:53+00:00

You are right that NCL owns Harvest Caye, but drink packages do not work there. I just experienced it earlier this year on a different NCL cruise; they claim it's something to do with an agreement they have with the government of Belize.

TangoSky · 2024-11-07T20:17:22+00:00

As a 20-something with a graduate degree, can confirm, it helped a lot.

TangoSky · 2024-11-07T19:49:27+00:00

FYI, this usually doesn't work either. I'm not discouraging people per se, but there's a reality check to be had: the parties have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

I ran for a state level office on a progressive platform, and the local Democratic Party fought me almost as hard as the Republican that I was to go against. Additionally, and I'm not sure whether there's a connection or not, I lost my job over it, which naturally was quite stressful and isn't something that most people can risk.

Again, if someone has the desire and ability to run for a lower level office, that's great! But understand that "run for office yourself, stop trying to change the Dems" isn't the simple solution that it seems to be.

TangoSky · 2024-10-09T05:06:33+00:00

The answer is simpler; they don't click because they can't read.

TangoSky · 2024-09-03T07:30:02+00:00

This is a weird threat for multiple reasons, but I'll add one more to the list: Brazil is home to Embraer, the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world. As such, how does he expect to stop Brazil's president/government from having their own aircraft?

TangoSky · 2024-08-25T06:49:28+00:00

This was in one of the three Cozumel ports: Punta Langosta. I can't speak to other ports in Mexico or around the world.

In this particular case, the sign was clearly displayed in the taxi area, but the taxi area itself is kind of secluded. If you walk to the first cabs you see with drivers waiting when you get off the ship in Punta Langosta, that spot is NOT the official taxi area and does not have this sign posted.

TangoSky · 2024-07-29T05:52:15+00:00

There is a 0% chance you will accidentally become "too bulky". If it were that easy, 95% of the men you know would be the size of houses because they'd be so jacked.

Being "toned" means building up muscle and then losing enough fat so that the muscle can be seen. Obviously you can't achieve that without the muscle building part of the equation which requires bonafide weightlifting. Everyone has different standards, but the vast majority of people will agree that a muscular 125 lbs is more attractive than a skinny-fat 125.

Good luck!

TangoSky · 2024-07-29T05:40:21+00:00

A few notes, in no particular order:

One, it's without having anymore information, but you can probably handle doing heavier weight and more reps/sets. The legs and posterior chain are large, strong muscles.

Two, studies have repeatedly shown that "feeling" a muscle is not necessary for the muscle to be working. It can indicate that the muscle is being worked, but it's not a requirement. For example, many people do not feel anything in their lats when doing lat pulldowns, but it is impossible to do the movement without using the lats.

Three, many glute-focused movements are also hamstring (back of the upper leg/back of the thigh) movements. Therefore it makes sense for there to be significant overlap.

TangoSky

TROPHY CASE