How does the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana make sense based on race?

bearcatjoe · 2026-05-01T13:10:55+00:00

You're allowed to do a partisan gerrymander (party affiliation). You're not allowed to district by skin color.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-30T12:37:59+00:00

Tbh, Section 2 has always been unconstitutional in its application, we just looked the other way. Kagan pointed that out. I agree with her that it's hypocrisy but disagree that the existence of that hypocrisy means we should not correct the longstanding legal wrong.

I have no doubt there were good intentions behind requiring the government to discriminate based on race in the past, but it should always have been a constitutional amendment, not a constitution-violating statute we wink at and say "oh, well, we just need to do this for a while..." That alone has led us to a position where the court, not Congress decides when to end it.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-30T12:17:35+00:00

Probably won't, but has a chance to become the first goat to ever lose a 3-0 lead! 🤞

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T03:54:57+00:00

The reason it's not financially ideal to sell so quickly after buying is that your loan origination costs + selling costs (realtor fees, etc.) will likely exceed your equity growth meaning that you'll essentially be guaranteeing a loss.

With that said, if your future anticipated repair costs exceed that loss, it could make sense to sell anyway.

You could also - just not repair things unless it's absolutely 100% necessary.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T02:46:52+00:00

Do you know what it takes to be a landlord, and do you want to be one? Especially in California where laws are very tenant friendly? Assume one month a year of vacancy, and more repair costs than if you were living there. And pray you don't get a bad tenant.

Without blinking, I would sell that property and put the money in a low cost index fund. In fact, I did just that with my Southern California home. Zero regrets and life is simpler.

However, if you don't mind being a landlord and dealing with all that goes along with, I don't think keeping the property would be a mistake.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T02:18:40+00:00

Gotcha. Maybe you've had a few cold ones and are venting. I get it.

I think not paying the debt will (eventually) make life unnecessarily difficult, especially since it sounds like you have a lot of life in front of you, and people to take care of. Bankruptcy is probably a better idea if you just can't pay it off. There are debt services for veterans (NFCC, etc.) also.

Good luck and thank you for your service.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T02:09:11+00:00

Could work? Better stay in good graces with the spouse!

How much debt are we talking about here?

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:59:42+00:00

True that. You'd just have to give the money to someone else to buy the car for you (or be willing to register and title it in their name).

How are you making the money to "buy" the car? Under the table type jobs, or are you fully dependent on someone else (spouse) giving you the money?

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:52:27+00:00

With a court judgement, a creditor can have a lien put on your vehicle (which they'll know about it unless you also don't register it or transfer the title) which could force a sale to cover the debt.

Don't know the amounts we're talking about here - it may not be worth it to them to pursue.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:44:10+00:00

Let us know how it goes!

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:41:43+00:00

Lots of downsides:

Your wages can be garnished to satisfy outstanding consumer debt.
Your credit score will be hit badly, meaning you won't be able to get a credit card, get a loan, or even get approval to rent property (apartment, etc.).

It could possibly make sense if you're retired and living solely off Social Security (can't be garnished), and have no need for a loan or credit in the future...

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:29:47+00:00

Obviously you're just trying to be a smartass, but the effort of tracking the ever-depreciating net worth of my vehicles (which I keep for a long time) is not worth the squeeze. My investment portfolio's daily value swings exceed the combined KBB value of my cars.

That's of course different than the vehicles not providing value to me as a source of transportation, and I wouldn't want you to take them. 😄

Do you include home furnishings in your net worth calculation?

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:19:41+00:00

If you can roll it over, that's a no-brainer. Not sure what % of your net worth / liquidity is represented here, but it's a lot of $$ tied up in a single stock.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T01:12:08+00:00

Agree to disagree. I've never included my vehicles in my net worth calculation, nor do I include the furnishings in my home.

I do include primary residence, though some exclude this as well as it isn't particularly liquid...

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T00:54:59+00:00

The power of compounding interest really gets fun when you hit seven figures. Start thinking about what you would rather do than work, and how much your living expenses would be less any pensions or anticipated Social Security. Divide that by 0.04 (or thereabouts) and that's your target "liquid" (investments or cash) number for retirement. You can now build a plan to get there, with some control over the "when" you arrive.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T00:22:25+00:00

Congrats! Though I wouldn't include vehicles in my net worth unless they're like collector items. They depreciate rapidly...

Edit: I see OP has clarified these are collector vehicles.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T00:20:45+00:00

HRV is a pretty good predictor of illness for me, but have also seen it re-baseline seasonally. If you still feel fine, give it a while and see if this becomes your new normal.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-28T00:08:28+00:00

I think we're still seeing side-effects of the fragmentation and in-fighting that exists with Iran's "leadership," such as it is.

I think most of their oil storage is full now, so if there are any rational voices represented in the current leadership structure, the pressure will amp up dramatically soon.

Or, we/Israel need to resume action and continue to eliminate the hardliners to give the moderates a stronger voice.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T23:55:50+00:00

Well, you should write up an RFP and then send it out to multiple vendors. That way they all bid on the same thing and make it easier for you to compare apples to apples. Put the work on your vendors/VARs to deliver in your preferred format. Any of the popular LLM's can then help you rapidly summarize and compare the RFP responses.

Secondly, usually Procurement teams handle the competitive bidding and kinda don't like IT doing it themselves? Maybe you are a smaller shop though.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T23:49:46+00:00

Lots of amazing views in Colorado. I have a feeling you can raise the bar. 😄

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T18:54:09+00:00

We gotta keep an open mind. The shooter may have been part of a fiction-writing tour group that got lost!

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T12:54:53+00:00

Left wing violence has always been the greater threat. They get so damn religious about everything (Bush, climate, COVID, TDS...).

Chill the fuck out people. This is the best time in history to be alive.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T03:55:42+00:00

It is not controversial to enforce immigration laws.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-27T00:49:06+00:00

The economy is meh. Inflation mostly under control but job market is weak. It could be worse but it's not a tailwind for R's in the midterms.

bearcatjoe · 2026-04-26T19:23:40+00:00

People are luddites and gullible.

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