Best quote I've heard on this: You can pray all you want, but unless you water a plant, it's not going to grow. God wants action, not just words.
Midwest USA-based lawyer for a hotel company. Interests: public policy, art, ecological/conservation work. Board member and chair of public policy work group at Heartland Conservation Alliance: https://www.heartlandconservationalliance.org/
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Best quote I've heard on this: You can pray all you want, but unless you water a plant, it's not going to grow. God wants action, not just words.
Wonderful satirical op-ed from the Military Times. www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/mil...
Meanwhile, we have a nursing shortage in the USA. This is messed up.
Looks like the indicted and disbarred former lawyer is angling for a job with DeSantis.
Most of us have some form of addiction ... but that's some seriously weird pathology to be that deep into collecting items that can be used to kill fellow human beings.
I find it interesting that grand juries are pushing back on DOJ overreach. We may have to dispense with the old adage that a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich. Apparently not. This is a good thing, and a sign that citizens may be getting fed up. #sandwich www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
At my old law firm, we used to refer to the QI doctrine as the Unqualified Impunity Doctrine. Particularly here in the 8th Circuit.
Good lord! Why doesn't she just crawl under the table and give him a blow job while she's at it? The sycophancy just keeps getting worse and worse. I think we're past the North Korea level by now.
Interesting argument in this article. It mirrors discussions many of us have had about the USA splintering. "Soft secession" seems like an interesting and perhaps inevitable next step. It’s Time for Americans to Start Talking About “Soft Secession” open.substack.com/pub/cmarmita...
I know how high my electricity bills get during the summer. It bites, but at least I'm privileged enough to afford it. Yet many can't, and we have an administration whose policies are increasing energy costs by trying to kill cheaper renewables. #energy #climate 🌎 bbc.com/future/artic...
The researchers need to hit back, hard. Sue the law firm and the groups they represent for tortious interference with business relationships, and any other cause of action they can dream up. Tie them up in litigation. Take the offensive.
The question of whether the USA should outsource its space program to private companies is a different question than whether companies can use NOLs, or whether Musk is a POS. Personally, I think NASA should be funded and less reliant on private companies ... but that's just me.
I think South Park should add the Ghost of Jeffrey Epstein as a new character. I can see all sorts of possibilities with that, including a Christmas special where his ghost shows up to haunt Trump. #SouthPark #Epstein
I don't think many people understand how profoundly climate change will affect agriculture and our food supply. I know I don't. #agriculture #climate 🌎 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Farming's a tough gig. Significant capital investment, returns subject to the vagaries of weather and commodities prices. Probably good to also be a doctor to provide some income stability.
Zohran Mamdani has some of the best political messaging I've seen in years. Fellow Democrats should take some lessons.
Agreed. When it comes to overclassification, I recall reading a book a number of years ago that revealed intel agency analysts were clipping articles from major newspapers and stamping them classified.
Looking back at history, Stalin conducted a purge of military officers (albeit in a more terminal fashion). It gutted the Red Army's leadership and effectiveness right at the time they needed it the most. Not a good move.
Where's my red envelope full of cash??? I'm missing out!
Life without books is unimaginable.
I would want to know whether the hotel in question is corporate-owned by Marriott, or whether it's a franchisee of the Sheraton brand.
Many Marriott hotels (true with other brands as well) are not owned by Marriott. They have franchise agreements with the actual owners, who can be anyone from a small one-hotel owner to a larger company with multiple properties. As franchisor, they wouldn't have control over who stays at a property.
It's called a net operating loss carryforward. It applies to any business, and the fact SpaceX didn't pay taxes those years means it lost a shit-ton of money in prior years. www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neto...
I had a similar bot offering ecological/conservation ... I did not follow. Obvious bot indicator.
This will end well. I suppose we're entering a new Golden Age for white collar criminals.
Under orders from Trump's FSB case officer, Vladimir Snoopin ...
As Clarence Darrow said, "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure".
Yep. It's a constant. Multiple texts per day, countless phishing emails ... so annoying, and they wouldn't be doing it if enough people didn't fall for it.
Absolutely do it. In fact, invite your local chapter of The Satanic Temple to help organize it ... just for funsies. 😈
This is absurd. Trump loves coal so much, they're forcing an old power plant to stay open at an exorbitant cost. The utility wanted to close it as part of a shift to cheaper renewables. Higher cost will be passed on to customers. #energy #coal #inflation 🌎 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Thanks for sharing. Incredible work, and wishing I had the time to head to Santa Fe for a long weekend!
Ooof. Given increased climate-related risk, this does not portend well.
Thanks for the explanation. It's remarkable how dependent we are on such a limited number of suppliers.
Interesting. Not just meds. A family member was in the hospital within the past year, and we were told they were rationing IV saline fluids due to a shortage.
I think she's going to be too busy prosecuting people with sandwiches who display any kind of intent to garnish.
I'm waiting for the Age of Eternal Darkness when the last star in the universe burns out and all light will be extinguished forever. 😎
Blows my mind how many people simply don't understand how generative AI works and that, contrary to popular belief, it's just not sentient! Not saying we'll never get to AGI, maybe with chips made from biological materials ... but that's sci-fi for the foreseeable future.
The silver lining here is that Bailey leaves Missouri. Good riddance. I'll take that as a win for my fellow Missouri citizens.
Vinh Nguyen will be fine. He'll get snapped up by Google, OpenAI, or some other tech company for way more money than he was being paid at the NSA. The American people, however, are the losers here.
A big question I have is whether there's any appetite in the capital markets for the level of investment needed to not only produce, but transport crude from this area. Big oil has pulled back on many fronts because it's simply not profitable enough.
New information about the scope and scale of human rights abuses by ICE is shocking, but not surprising. Mass hiring of agents with no accountability, scaling up prison facilities with no meaningful oversight. This was bound to happen. #ICE #HumanRights www.wired.com/story/senate...
Disavowing diversity and inclusion efforts tanked Target's business. Compare and contrast with Nike's marketing campaign embracing Colin Kaepernick. Nike took heat from the MAGA crowd, but they knew their customers and it was a win. Target's board should learn some lessons. #Target #DEI
I'm with you on shorting CAT bonds! Accelerating climate risk makes that a decent bet. I do have some moral qualms when it comes to the entire concept of disaster capitalism, but under the right circumstances, I could probably hold my nose and do it.
Correct. It's a risk transfer mechanism for insurers. I suppose if you want to bet for natural disasters you could design something like a credit default swap on the CAT bonds.
Figures that's in Texas. I understand the one star on the Texas state flag is actually a review.
Spent years hearing Republicans scream that government shouldn't be picking winners and losers in business - especially when it came to providing tax incentives for renewable energy. The hypocrisy is big with them.
I knew building that shrimp farm next to Fukushima was going to be trouble!
If he ever runs for any public office again, the negative ads should be utterly vicious. No quarter.
Between the article from the Economist this recent piece from the Guardian, it has never been more clear that we need to get our act together as a species ASAP. #climate 🌎 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
So much easier to make money when you can push off the cost of negative externalities onto the commons.
Strategic reforestation sounds like a good idea. Looking forward to learning more about this study. #reforestation #conservation #climate 🌎
This is a great idea. In the Kansas City area, the Heartland Conservation Alliance conducts a "Green Guard" environmental stewardship program. While conservation-focused, this an idea which can readily be expanded. www.heartlandconservationalliance.org/about/green-...
Nice. Challenging, but not so high that lack of oxygen adds more stress.
Wow. That looks like a great hike. What are the elevations?
I'm in the same boat. Premiums were already sky-high. At this rate, it might be cheaper to just put the money in the bank and pay for health care out of pocket, rolling the dice that nothing really bad happens from a health standpoint.
It would be great if everyone paid their fair share and I agree the tax code needs an overhaul. My understanding is that while SpaceX is making money now, its taxes are offset by carryforward net operating losses. Are you suggesting a limitation on use of NOLs? What would be fair?
Any security guarantees offered by the USA are worthless. We all know Trump and his cronies will go back on their word in a heartbeat.
Scurfa makes some great watches. I've had my eye on their Diver One in titanium.
The actual report indicates this was the total number of wire transfers in and out of Epstein's account, without referencing who they were from and to. I realize many suggest we're living in a post-fact world, but facts still matter.
Legitimately impressive.
Markwayne Mullin ... today's recipient of the Golden Kneepads Award. #GoldenKneePad
This is hilarious. Talk about a lapse in operational security! This comes close to adding journalists to a Signal chat group.
Here's a counterpoint photo ... www.jolynne.me/street-photo...
I truly hope we have a reckoning, and that the goverment officials who are perpetrating this evil will be brought to justice.
It's all about the money. Profits for the military industrial complex. youtu.be/cVYTb85_dZw?...
I'm sure the MAGA-types will claim it's a victory because Dear Leader didn't sign over the deed to Alaska.
Great time for Trump's government to be gutting the USA's scientific research capacity. Looks like it may be time to reallocate more investments to China. The so-called Golden Age being trumpeted by US leadership is more like the Iron Pyrite Age. #China #science #innovation #investment
Are you sure this isn't a scene from a cabinet meeting at the White House?
Under the tax rules, businesses can carry forward losses from prior years to offset income in profitable years. Basically, SpaceX lost a shit-ton of money in prior years, so it uses those losses to offset income in profitable years. accountinginsights.org/business-los...
One of my favorite films is Lord of War. In the final scenes, the protagonist arms dealer, played by Nicolas Cage, tells an investigator that his boss, the US President, sells more merchandise in one day than he moves in a year. Good documentary on the arms biz here.
This story makes me sad. Wetlands have been on my mind lately because my wife, a professional photographer, has been documenting wetlands in the American Midwest and has an upcoming exhibition of her work. Hopefully more visibility can help protect these critical ecosystems. #wetlands #ecology 🌎
He's a CHINO (Christian In Name Only). I despise such hypocrisy.
Assault with intent to garnish?
Boosting the signal for folks wanting to learn more about the spread of #misinformation.
After reading @katharinehayhoe.com's recent piece about the capacity of East African fig trees to sequester carbon, I'm trying to figure out if I can grow them in Midwest USA. www.talkingclimate.ca/p/climate-de...
This article strikes a chord ... every time I go to the grocery store, I'm shocked at how much everything costs. And don't even get me started on the price of quality clothing, the monthly electricity bill, etc.! #inflation #economy
Absolutely! Love wearing watches.
What shelters? Per this piece from Mother Jones, there are 30 open shelter beds for men and 30 for women in D.C. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“In DC, there are, right now, 30 open shelter beds for men and 30 open shelter beds for women in places that are very hard to get to and places that people don’t generally want to go, ...” So, where will homeless folks go? Jail? Is losing your home now a crime? #housing #homelessness #poverty
Political ads at their best. I can't vote in NYC because I don't live there, but Mamdani goes straight to what infuriates many of us about legacy politicians like Cuomo -- their sense of entitlement and corruption.
The creators of this quiz (at Clemson Univ.) are apparently working on an update which will be released at the end of the month. Should be worth revisiting then.
Dealing with misinformation and disinformation is a challenge. Here's a great quiz that can help increase your media literacy by helping you spot the trolls. #misinformation #MediaLiteracy spotthetroll.org
Having spent time in both North and South Dakota, this is largely because the oil industry owns the state legislatures, court systems, and state regulatory agencies.
With high youth unemployment in China, some are paying to go to "fake" offices, including the aptly-named Pretend To Work Company in Dongguan. How does this differ from co-working space for solopreneurs? #China #co-working #unemployment www.bbc.com/news/article...
It's a rainy Sunday morning as storms traverse the Midwest. It's broken the oppresive humidity of the past few days. A good day for reading and writing. DJ Anub1s curates today's soundtrack with a compilation from various artists. Am enjoying this. youtu.be/o3DZrR8h6uU?...
Yep ... nuke it from space.
Every time I see all the gilded rooms I'm reminded of Fran Liebowitz's quip that Trump is “a poor person’s idea of a rich person”. Ran across it in Vanity Fair's brilliant review of Trump's restaurant in NYC. www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/12...
Same here. I'll mourn the loss of many smaller distilleries.
As someone who enjoys an occasional Manhattan or Old Fashioned, the downturn in the bourbon business is a double-edged sword. US prices are likely to drop as producers liquidate excess inventory ... and a number of distillers will close their doors. #bourbon #whiskey www.bbc.com/news/article...
One of my favorite authors wrote that hell is for those who believe in it, and the deepest pits of hell are reserved for those who believe they'll go there if they don't believe in it. 😈
While we're at it, release the options trading records of Trump's friends and family for the period leading up to each tariff announcement.
Drone strike capabilities appear to be continually increasing. Suprised to see this, as Saratov's not terribly close to the Ukrainian border. Refineries make great strategic targets.
You're becoming internet-famous! Does that officially make you some sort of social media influencer?
I've heard it said that Trump's aesthetic is a poor person's idea of how a rich person decorates. I think there's a bit of truth in that statement.
Linen's the only fabric I can think of, but you still wind up layering with a suit jacket over a shirt. Then, with linen, you have the wrinkle factor. I'm down with linen for casual wear, but it seems like a challenge in a more formal setting.
Men's fashion needs a serious overhaul. It's blistering hot and rather humid. I had a hearing in court this afternoon, so had to wear the obligatory suit and tie. Even with a lighter "summer weight" fabric, it was downright miserable getting to and from the courthouse. #menswear
I'm totally on board with this as well. But then, damn near anything Tolkien-related gets a thumbs up from me. Heck, I even liked the Bakshi animation pieces!
Father/son bonding over rounding up brown people? It's an American Nazi Party wet dream.
