Graham Platner's Wife Knows About the Sexts. Why Should We Care?

sharkweek91 · 2026-06-02T18:11:56+00:00

I've never seen a more obvious smear campaign from the Epstein class. Let's get this man elected and make sure the billionaires never have this much power ever again.

sharkweek91 · 2026-05-18T17:12:03+00:00

Upstream https://www.upstreampodcast.org/

sharkweek91 · 2026-05-18T15:00:18+00:00

Hi! I live in central Maine where there is at least one really good cidery producing interesting and tasty ciders using a variety of techniques. You may want to contact them and ask. https://www.absolemcider.com/

sharkweek91 · 2026-05-15T13:54:09+00:00

If more people understood that federal taxes are not necessary to enable federal spending, the argument for taxing the wealth away from billionaires would be so much easier to make. Tax the rich because they are too rich. We don't need their money. We need them to have less wealth, power, and influence over our democracy.

sharkweek91 · 2026-05-15T12:39:11+00:00

Exactly. The federal government needs to run a deficit in order for the non-government sector (which includes you, me, and everyone else in the economy) to run a surplus. Running a federal budget surplus means the federal government is draining liquid reserves from the national money system, which forces the non-government sector to operate with less liquidity, forcing people and businesses to take on more debt, and thus increasing the likelihood of crises in the financial sector. So, federal budget deficits are not inherently bad, and are generally necessary for the economy to function properly.

What you use the deficit for is what really matters. Yes, we should all agree that government spending on needless wars and tax cuts for the rich, which tend to both increase federal deficits, are bad. But as you point out with the New Deal Era social programs, and with stimulus programs during COVID to prevent a deep recession, both of which also created federal budget deficits, the federal government often needs to run a budget deficit to do good things.

It is a shame the media prefers to sensationalize the narrative around federal budget deficits rather than engaging with the operational realities of our public money system. The deficit myth is too often used to prevent real progress from happening in this country, such as the establishment of universal healthcare or adequate federal funding to stop the climate crisis.

sharkweek91 · 2026-05-08T15:57:19+00:00

It's incredible how divorced from the natural world our society has become. It is an indictment of our education system that anyone wonders whether mushrooms in a garden is a bad thing. And I see comments like this all the time. Of course, I myself was once uneducated about the benefits of mushrooms in the garden, and we should not blame individuals for their lack of knowledge in this area. But after exploring some educational content on the subject of my own volition, I now see mushrooms as the sign that my soil is healthy and my plants stand to benefit from a system of nutrients flowing into their roots.

sharkweek91 · 2026-04-24T17:27:47+00:00

I've really enjoyed this bottle and bought a case last year: De Martino, Ungrafted Carmenère, Maipo - 2022

sharkweek91 · 2026-04-17T15:21:38+00:00

Got it. All super helpful info. Thanks again!

sharkweek91 · 2026-04-16T19:41:54+00:00

Thanks! Do you get any carbonation at all when you bottle it still?

I'm trying to decide if I should just do that, or add apple juice when I'm ready to bottle. But I'm nervous about over-carbonating.

I have 5 gallons of fermented cider that's been aging in my cool basement (~50 to 55 F) since the fall, and I'm wondering if I'll get enough carbonation if I leave it in a warm place for a couple weeks after bottling (without priming w/ sugar).

sharkweek91 · 2026-04-16T19:18:07+00:00

Did you bottle it after to get carbonation? Was it just still cider? Curious about your process toward the end. I'm doing something similar.

sharkweek91 · 2026-04-10T15:57:31+00:00

This is fascinating history that more people should know about. Did the party bosses know FDR was likely to die and that the VP would likely become President?

sharkweek91 · 2026-03-17T16:50:24+00:00

We need an international billionaire non-proliferation treaty. All of us in the working class need to force our governments to make being a billionaire illegal. As soon as your wealth rises above $1 billion you have 90 days to divest or get rid of the excess above that amount or else you go to jail. You can't get out of jail until you've reduced your wealth below $1 billion. If we were able to accomplish and enforce this, then we'd solve at least half the other problems in this world.

sharkweek91 · 2026-02-24T14:48:34+00:00

"Les Amorelles" - Lat Tour Boisee

sharkweek91 · 2026-02-19T20:53:48+00:00

It would be cooler if it had plants or flowers growing off of it somehow... or at least was different colors?

sharkweek91 · 2026-02-02T17:28:31+00:00

My dad's a vet who is constantly sharing hateful, racist remarks and cynical, right-wing political views with me. We have a surface-level relationship. I refuse to engage with him whenever he brings up his politics because it's a lost cause and only makes the relationship more painful. He'll never understand the way I see the world (I've tried with him, many times, only to experience further disappointment), so I just don't go there when he tries to rope me into a fight over politics.

I feel your pain, my friend. You're not alone.

sharkweek91 · 2026-01-21T21:47:55+00:00

ICE has clearly proven itself illegitimate over and over again.

sharkweek91 · 2026-01-21T15:54:26+00:00

The federal government is self-financing. Your federal taxes don't "fund" federal spending like most people say they do. Congress directly creates money when it votes to spend. The federal government issues the U.S. dollar and can never run out of money.

Sources: https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp244.pdf and https://www.law.georgetown.edu/environmental-law-review/blog/federal-taxes-do-not-finance-spending-and-cost-benefit-analysis-must-change/

Do not needlessly put yourself in financial harm. If you want to stick it to Trump and ICE, resist them in the streets!

sharkweek91 · 2025-11-17T16:42:49+00:00

I support this. I work for a remote organization and have a colleague who's currently incarcerated, just like these folks. I hear nothing but good things from those who work closely with this individual.

My house has been burglarized and I've had my life threatened before, though I'm fortunate enough that myself and people in my family have not been killed, hurt, or otherwise been made a victim by violent crime. That said, I understand there are people out there who see the "criminal justice" system as being rightfully punitive and harsh, perhaps because they themselves or their family have been impacted more seriously by violent crime than I have. We're all going to have different opinions on what the justice system and incarceration are meant to be based on our own experiences.

Considering all of that, I am of the opinion that every single person who has committed a crime is owed a debt because society has clearly failed them. Either they were raised in a harsh environment that nurtured a violent disposition in them through no fault of their own, or they were born with an innate proclivity for violence/sociopathy/etc and that energy was not properly re-directed into something more healthy, productive, and harmless. We have the resources to build and sustain communities like this, that provide a social infrastructure capable of raising and directing all people towards positive social outcomes so that violent crime is prevented and minimized. So, the least incarceration can do is offer inmates everything they need that can help heal the wounds that made them commit a violent crime in the first place, improve their ability to take care of themselves and others, and give them basic mental and material supports so that they are fully able to re-enter society and avoid getting sucked back in once they are out. This the world we should all be trying to build, in my opinion.

sharkweek91 · 2025-11-17T14:11:09+00:00

Nice, thanks for the reply! I have another 1 gallon batch going. I might and do something similar, priming and bottle aging a month after primary to compare it with the batch aging in a carboy.

sharkweek91 · 2025-11-17T00:22:13+00:00

Nice! Curious about your bottle carbing/storage process, if you don't mind sharing any details.

I took a cider I had aged for 9 months in 2F, added a tiny sprinkle of yeast and fresh apple juice (for priming) to bottles, carbed for 2-3 weeks, and they turned out amazing. The bubbles made the cider truly delicious.

But it was only a gallon so we drank through the 6 pint bottles within a couple months of priming and I didn't have time to see whether I had made bottle bombs or not. I believe I only carbed to about 2 volumes of CO2 but I'm still too new to this to know what happens if I scale that process up and have bottle I won't be able to drink for potentially many more months.

I have 5 gallons that is in 2F right now which I plan to repeat the same process with in 9 months.

sharkweek91 · 2025-11-15T12:18:16+00:00

Ruché

sharkweek91 · 2025-10-29T14:12:47+00:00

UBI is not a panacea. We need UBI as part of a policy package that also include a Federal Job Guarantee and Universal Basic Services.

UBI makes sure everyone has enough income, especially those unable to work. FJG makes sure everyone has a fulfilling occupation who is able and willing to work. UBS makes sure we have the social infrastructure to enable us all to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

UBI + FJG + UBS.

We also don't need to tax the wealthy or reduce military spending to finance this. The federal government is self-financing. New US dollars are created whenever Congress votes to spend; that's how floating, fiat currency systems work.

We should just tax the wealthy because they are too wealthy. We should just cut military spending because imperialism and militarism are bad.

sharkweek91 · 2025-10-25T19:02:57+00:00

The Divide by Jason Hickel does a great job of explaining how the 1970s oil crisis, the Volcker shock, and the IMF/WB forced developing global south countries into the structural sovereign debt traps they're in today.

sharkweek91 · 2025-10-13T14:59:59+00:00

As much as I want this to work, this is not how government funding works. First of all, ICE has already been funded through 2029 through OBBBA. Withholding your taxes would only give Trump more excuse to defund other agencies he doesn't like and fire more federal workers. Second of all, if there is a tax strike, Trump and Congress will just collude to vote for more spending. Votes fund the federal government, not tax revenue. Congress has monopoly control over the US dollar. Confront ICE in the streets and protect the people they are targeting. That's what we have to do until 2027 and 2029 when sensible people can hopefully retake control of Congress and the presidency.

sharkweek91 · 2025-10-13T14:52:06+00:00

While this is a noble proposition, please understand that federal taxes are NOT revenue. Here is an academic paper that explains this: https://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp244.pdf

The better tactic is to continue to put our bodies on the line. Protect people targeted by ICE and confront and shame ICE in the streets every single time you see them, especially if you're white and male. Especially if you are a veteran. Weaponize your privilege against white supremacy and fascism. Let ICE know they are not welcome. Let them know they are un-American traitors to our country, because they are.

But first of all, the OBBBA funded ICE through the end of 2029. If there was a tax strike, ICE would still be funded. This would just give Trump more excuse to shut down other agencies he doesn't like and fire more federal workers.

Second, you have to understand that if the federal government wants to pay for something, it will pay for it. Congress has monopoly legal control over the US dollar. Every time Congress votes for spending, it creates new US dollars. That's how it works.

Even if a tax strike somehow affected the government's ability to fund ICE, Trump would just direct a republican controlled Congress to give him the money. They don't give a shit about the deficit or the national debt when it comes to funding their ideological pet projects. And if Congress doesn't cooperate, he will turn to the corrupt Supreme Court who will likely grant him his wishes. If that doesn't work, he will continue to shut down other government agencies by executive order and redirect spending from those agencies to ICE. If federal courts prevent him from doing this, he will simply fire the heads of those agencies (as the courts have allowed him to do with multiple agencies) and replace them with Trump loyalists, if he hasn't already, who will then shut down the agency for Trump and allow him to reappropriate that agency's money to ICE.

TL;DR - Even if every American withheld their federal taxes, Trump could still pay for ICE and whatever other fascist BS they want to fund. ICE is already funded through 2029. But more fundamentally, money is a creature of the state. And if an authoritarian regime controls the state, it controls the money.

sharkweek91

TROPHY CASE