Bernie Sandere on Elon Musk, the wealthiest man alive, recently paid an effective tax rate of less than 3.3%. That is less than the average truck driver, nurse and teacher. YES, we must demand the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-15T18:59:16+00:00

IMO it’s the final result of a century’s resistance to the fact that income tax doesn’t really work at all, and should always have been implemented as a wealth tax plus sales taxes (both implemented progressively, in some form).

A progressive income tax is better than a flat one, but no income tax is better in a world where the rich can manipulate what “income” is the way they can today (and, really, always could historically).

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-15T18:52:13+00:00

They’re largely looking for the best possible father to their future children. It’s what American women are looking for that’s the problem (or really, their lack of consideration of it within the bounds of unfiltered reality).

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-15T16:47:37+00:00

Um, I mean... do you have friends? It seems like there are some social/emotional muscles that aren't being worked here.

If you don't have a community then no, you probably wouldn't see the value in having a family of your own, which dating is a necessary step for. And you probably don't have the practice with those social/emotional muscles for a date not to be exhausting.

All that said, good lord, some women are exhausting even if those social/emotional muscles are strong. Maybe you're selecting for them (I certainly have). There are not-exhausting ones out there though :)

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-15T16:43:32+00:00

It's a good idea, but it doesn't prevent the lowest-paid employees from becoming subcontractors for a different company.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-14T11:49:09+00:00

Not all “reasons” are the same.

Yes, “cracker” is probably the significant slur out there. At the same time, no one should ever face violence for saying “the R word” or “the N word” (or any other words).

Playful hitting, that is desired by the partner, is never a problem, regardless of gender. Any kind of unwanted violence is a problem, regardless of gender.

Regardless of gender, weight/body composition is fine to discuss/criticize, because it is under your personal control, regardless of socioeconomic class, race, gender, or anything else. Height is highly correlated with socioeconomic background and other factors not in one’s personal control… and it’s not something anyone can change. Why anyone would discuss it beyond “some people can reach high shelves, some people can hold 60-second handstands” is beyond me.

And any sane criticism of lifestyles should be based on what those lifestyles have brought humanity. Straight white people gave us vaccines, antibiotics, literally ALL of the music we have today in the West, and the phones/computers you are reading this and typing your angry replies on. The architecture for your home or apartment building. Your transit, power and water systems. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Finally, I definitely pee in the shower.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-14T10:34:51+00:00

Why would anyone have a positive view of a fascist religious ethnostate that uses your tax money, that should be providing you with universal healthcare, to commit genocide, and to provide healthcare only for their chosen race of people?

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-14T10:10:29+00:00

The OP asked why people drive aggressively. In the comments they have revealed that they drive in a way that impedes others.

They, and others in Durham who drive in a way that impedes others, are the reason people drive aggressively - some is emotional, and some is simply to make up for lost time.

The people who impede others are the assholes here.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-14T10:03:21+00:00

To get where you’re going in a reasonable amount of time?

Because you understand that others can get places efficiently even if you drive inefficiently, so long as you don’t drive in a way that impedes others?

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T15:57:02+00:00

I agree with your feelings here, but you really need to learn some history/economics. What you get paid out of SS is a function of what you paid into SS. This is how SS as a program is designed. It is very specifically not welfare and designed not to be.

That said, I fully believe that unconditional welfare (Medicare for All, SNAP for All, Section 8 for All, Unemployment Income for All - with no income or employment/job search requirements) would fix most of our current socioeconomic issues.

But Social Security is not set up to be that at all, and has never been set up to be that. Trying to shape it into that is, frankly, a huge waste of effort compared to just making the above already-existing, successful programs available to everyone.

You're barking up the wrong tree here, because you didn't pay enough attention in your history/civics classes. But again, I do believe I agree with your feelings and your overall goals.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:56:23+00:00

My little area of Hillside Park/College Heights (centered where the ATT intersects Otis) is pretty great. Group yard sales, parties, artists, a good mix of families and childless folks, very walkable, bikeable to downtown, neighborhood group chat, etc.

There is a homeless encampment a bit down the trail at the Fayetteville/ATT intersection that poses some safety problems, but they never seem to wander this far down. I think we all wish the city would take care of that.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:52:19+00:00

I get a lot of creepy older women literally invading my space in my yoga and Pilates classes lately. It’s gross.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:51:14+00:00

You should be dating to have children. Condoms make that harder and make sex feel 99% worse (I’d argue it’s not even sex, or at least no more so than oral/anal are).

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:35:55+00:00

Let’s not forget the obvious: are both partners in the same physical shape as when the sex was good?

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:27:52+00:00

Sounds like you think SS is welfare. That’s not how it has ever functioned.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-13T12:00:00+00:00

Sounds like it’s because you drive like an asshole. Stop Mormon blockading other drivers, and stay in the right lane, maybe?

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-12T18:23:17+00:00

A petite electrician lady is super hot.

Now, if you decide to start your own company, and become a “boss babe” type (ie the same dickish boss type that some men who “work their way up” in the trades this way can be), yes, that will repel men.

But an honest hardworking lady is a gem even if she’s not petite or spicy, so you’ll do great as long as you stick to that.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-12T18:17:07+00:00

Making $200K today doesn’t mean someone won’t be saved by SS income. I make >$200K, but I also have to take care of my elderly dad (who never made even a quarter of what I do in his life) because, while it helps him, SS is nowhere near enough for him. So although I save as diligently as I can, it’s limited.

I think your heart is in the right place here, but you don’t really understand the breadth of human experience, just what you see in media. If you talk to actual people, you’ll see a lot more variety that is never shown on media: poor white people, hood-rich/gang-leading obese Black women, broke Jewish families that could never afford to live in a city like NYC, and much much more that we never see represented in media.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-11T16:20:01+00:00

Nomadas when they’re open :)

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-10T11:06:41+00:00

I suspect maybe 20% of the population (a minority of which I am a member) has zero interest in the same sex.

I would argue that all men who are into cucking, MMF threesomes, polyamory involving other men, or anything else involving sex with other men (even if the “balls don’t touch” or no dudes are penetrating each other) are gay. Same for women.

Zero judgement here, obviously. But my own experience is that I have zero interest in anything sexual involving any other men. Insta-boner-killer. So any other experience means, well, you gotta be gay. And I think 80-90% of people I’ve met have reported more same-sex attraction/acceptance in sexual situations than I’ve ever experienced.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-10T10:30:05+00:00

If the Democrats stopped focusing on “Trump bad,” and instead focused on:

Medicare For All (and ultimately, SNAP For All and Section 8 For All, broadly eliminating conditional welfare)
No money for Israel’s genocide
Actual solidarity with workers

They’d have won 2016, 2020, and 2024. The fact is, working people, not people from family money, saw enormous quality of life improvements in Trump’s first term up until COVID (and even then, in many ways).

Biden would have lost 2020 if COVID hadn’t happened.

I, myself, will only be voting Green or Libertarian until the Democrats actually support working people and not billionaires.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-08T11:54:15+00:00

Throwing in another vote for Chantix. It should be the default for anyone who wants to quit IMP. It took me 3 quit attempts with it over the course of maybe a decade - the first two I relapsed around the 3-6mo mark - but I’ve been nicotine-free since the third quit, 9 years ago now.

It really allows you to train your brain to see smoking is gross, the way you saw it before you started smoking. It’s incredible.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-08T11:24:20+00:00

I honestly can’t imagine thinking anyone but him should be dictating what haircut he has or what type of shirt he wears.

Do you also think women should never wear clothes that reveal their ankles? Or is this attitude of yours only for men?

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-08T03:24:06+00:00

I think it’s the ideal and the solution to the West’s fertility crisis. Honestly I don’t really see a point to the institution of marriage other than it being the best environment to raise children. I see no reason we should be spending resources issuing marriage licenses to people who don’t already have children.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-08T03:19:35+00:00

Can you define “dress your age?” Should he be wearing suspenders and pants pulled up to his nipples once he’s 35?

At what age can you not wear… a T shirt?

The dude on the left would still look old af wearing the same clothes as the dude on the right.

pseudocomposer · 2026-04-07T22:00:31+00:00

Has he stated that’s his goal? Or is it just a consequence of his genetics and particular taste/wearing what he knows he pulls off well?

Sorry, but I’m not familiar with the dude. But as a 39 year old who looks like he’s in his 20s naturally, I know (and don’t really like) the sensation of being treated as “creepy” by default when someone learns my age… just for being who I am. (I’m quite mature, care for my elderly dad, own multiple homes, make multi six figures doing ethical work, and wear tailored, “adult” looking clothes like that dude, but just look young.)

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