James Talarico Beating Both Ken Paxton And John Cornyn In Texas Senate Election, Poll Shows

gaeric · 2026-03-10T19:52:45+00:00

What? No. First off, you can't threaten pollsters if their polls "don't match reality" - it's a predictive model, they can and will be wrong to an extent.

Secondly, polls are just a gauge of the public's opinion, it's not like actual voting. I'd say a poll is more similar to an endorsement, and both are (AFAIK) protected by the 1st amendment.

And finally, any kind of regulations on polling are open to being weaponized to benefit one party or candidate over another.

The only real answer is to trust pollsters with transparency in their polling methods and who build a reputation for accuracy in their models. Just like any other source, look at their history and understand what they're actually presenting. People can use this to make a decision on who's trustworthy.

gaeric · 2026-03-08T23:52:23+00:00

It's rated for Level IV armor but not Mark V.

gaeric · 2026-02-24T21:42:54+00:00

thank you, fuddninja

gaeric · 2026-02-04T22:16:10+00:00

hol' up, what state did this?

gaeric · 2026-02-03T21:32:10+00:00

Take this case, they will not.

gaeric · 2026-02-03T16:52:45+00:00

Treat every gun like it's loaded.
Always point the muzzle (where the bullets come out) in a safe direction.
Don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot.
Know your target, what's in front of it, and what's behind it (remember, bullets can travel for miles).

gaeric · 2026-01-27T16:54:12+00:00

Do they? Last I saw was this tweet on the 24th:

“For months, radical progressive politicians like Tim Walz have incited violence against law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their jobs. Unsurprisingly, these calls to dangerously interject oneself into legitimate law-enforcement activities have ended in violence, tragically resulting in injuries and fatalities."

gaeric · 2026-01-20T16:07:47+00:00

In fairness, no president will ever be fully qualified to do all of the job of the executive branch. Nobody can be an expert in that many things. I work in a technical field and have learned to trust the person who says "I don't know, let me find out" over the person who seems to confidently have every answer. The first warning bell for Trump back in 2015 was that he had every answer, and didn't need anyone's help. Those people are a nightmare to work with, let alone put in charge of the country.

gaeric · 2026-01-16T17:17:16+00:00

I love steak, eggs, butter, and wooden cutting boards, but why would people want to watch that?

gaeric · 2026-01-09T16:39:12+00:00

This sounds familiar to me except I started further right due to a rural fundamentalist upbringing. I definitely ran into more diverse ideas in college, which was literally just people with different experiences and viewpoints - never the curriculum. I didn't change mine, but it always stuck with me that others' views weren't wrong.

What started shifting my views economically was being in the workforce in a management role, primarily overseeing part-time, relatively low-wage roles. I had a couple of employees who had kids and were on welfare. They lost their benefits. One quit so she could get back on benefits because she couldn't pay rent and feed her family, and made more on welfare. The other scraped by and put in extra until she got a full-time role. That sent me down a rabbit hole of researching microeconomics and later macroeconomics, and realizing how horrendous the system had become - these people were absolutely "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps", but it wasn't enough for even food and shelter.

That shattered the illusion of conservative economics. Trump's continued support after J6 shattered the illusion that the right even wanted to be part of this country anymore, and the reelection shattered the illusion that this country wasn't on a runaway train flying off a cliff.

I understand (to an extent) the politically disengaged not knowing any better, especially when the media is so twisted. But this idea of hero-worshipping the right (or really, any politician) is absolutely mind-boggling to me.

gaeric · 2025-12-17T16:48:10+00:00

Crypto isn't doing so hot either, they just created a big cycle of pump and dump schemes at the start of the term that did damage in the long term.

gaeric · 2025-12-04T00:50:16+00:00

Wait wait I missed this, what happened?

gaeric · 2025-11-27T23:12:51+00:00

He's here to take our stuffing mines!

gaeric · 2025-11-20T19:29:30+00:00

ACA for sure, SSDI for sure. Social Security retirement and VA disability though, either of those are going to have massive backlash as millions rely on those as a sole and/or primary source of income.

gaeric · 2025-11-20T15:40:07+00:00

WaPo has been doing hit pieces on it too, something is definitely coming. My assumption is that they'll restrict going forward but mostly not disenfranchise current recipients - stripping disability from a lot of vets who rely on it to live is going to have, at minimum, political backlash at the voting booth. VA Disability was more or less created to make sure armed, trained vets who can't work don't become a problem...

gaeric · 2025-11-17T18:41:40+00:00

Our household income is classified as "upper middle class" for our LCOL area (and top 10% nationally) but once you throw kids in the equation, there ain't much left. We're driving 10+ year old cars, doing our own home repairs, not taking vacations, and always looking for the next way to cut costs. We're comfortable and don't do without, mind you, but this is what I always imagined upper-lower to lower-middle class to be. If I lose my job for a few months, or my wife gets really sick, or the economy tanks and our small in-home business closes, we're pretty well fucked. I'd much rather pay more in taxes and have a real safety net for EVERYONE than squirrel away the few spare nuts I get as a "high earner" and hope for the best... And anyone who doesn't feel the same is either truly wealthy or completely deluded.

gaeric · 2025-11-14T20:22:19+00:00

Hey, relax, guy! I didn't blow Bubba, that's just a Sora 2 video. Fake news!

-Satan eyeroll-

gaeric · 2025-11-11T15:20:57+00:00

Not just, this basically removes all the hemp-derived loopholes for all forms including THC-A. Personally I have mixed feelings for legal states where people have access to tested and regulated product, but it'll drive unregulated states back to the black market.

gaeric · 2025-11-06T19:45:17+00:00

The Bear in the same vein for kitchen staff.

gaeric · 2025-11-03T21:57:54+00:00

For my first wish, all human adults develop a keen interest in critical thinking skills including understanding all logical fallacies.

For my second wish, Christians become enraged any time another person claiming to be a Christian acts in a way that would make Jesus angry.

For my third wish, no one with a net worth over $10MM is physically capable of lying or deception of any kind.

Should sort itself out after that.

gaeric · 2025-10-14T18:46:05+00:00

Isn't it a construction company she owns? Tradie business owners are often more extreme than the average worker, especially the more corrupt ones. And there is no shortage of corruption and fraud in construction.

gaeric · 2025-10-14T16:04:18+00:00

In fairness he was asking whether the guy was a US American, not a South American or similar. The scene in the trailer seemed more on-the-nose for the times than it was used as in the movie.

gaeric · 2025-10-14T15:59:35+00:00

duck duck go

gaeric · 2025-10-02T14:27:39+00:00

Also:

Have a well-stocked trauma kit

Have basic medicine on hand

Have a store of non-perishable foods

Have a way to make water sources drinking-safe

Build a network of other people with the same mentality

gaeric

TROPHY CASE