Englishgrinn

A BBQ with friends, after sleeping in late - the good life. Happy Canada Day.

Patriotism is a tricky thing in the modern world. Swirling nationalism and co-opted symbols abound. Always remember that loving your country is about knowing she can be more than she is, more than she was, but also appreciating her today.

There's all kinds of bad news, and worse people, out there. Tough times for a lot of our neighbours. But we're free. To worship as we choose, be who we are, love who we choose, go where we want and say what we like. It's a rarer and rarer thing today. So let's celebrate. Raise a glass, a fist or your voice and cheer on this great nation. Go Canada!

So here's a dumb Puzzle Fighter story. When I was 18, many years ago now, my girlfriend at the time, my best friend and his girlfriend at the time went camping near a little lakeside resort town.

It was the last day of our trip, we'd been extremely frugal and so we all still had some spending money left. The girls wanted to go clothes shopping, my buddy and I weren't as interested in that but we're trying to be cool so we tagged along. Except, on a covered section of boardwalk we passed a 2-player Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo machine. The girls just left us behind, laughing that the boardwalk was a straight line and we could catch up.

3 hours later, we were both broke and my buddy had to borrow gas money from his girlfriend to get us home. The girls had ducked into a little café and also lost track of time. That was a 50 cent machine and we must have put over 50 bucks a piece into it. We just stood there, getting better and better in perfect lockstep, trading wins and getting more competitive for an entire afternoon, oblivious to the whole world.

That was a great trip. God, nostalgia like that makes me feel old.

The thing is, actual capitalist theory suggests it wouldn't "cut out" bloodsuckers at all. It would force them to compete but they would survive, presumably just fine.

A public option is definitely a socialist platform, but unless the government stores are allowed to operate at a loss indefinitely, supplemented by tax dollars, they pose NO real threat to those businesses, only to greedy gouging.

I keep seeing headlines and links to substacks regarding this particular theory and while there's some smoke - I remain unconvinced.

The timing of Leo's purchase of that company is suspect. Pushing an uncertified update is suspect. The oddities in the numbers are suspect.

But no one has connected the dots in a satisfying way and that no one had pointed to what steps could be taken to verify suspicions. It feels half-baked. I would love to try and believe that more Americans voted for Kamala, but only for a "faith in humanity" kind of way. Proving widespread fraud feels a long way off.

The truth doesn't really matter. Israel will get their war, and the US will lumber into it behind them.

What's crazy to me is apparently the US has become so polarized, so used to division that pointing out Israel is acting like bloodthirsty psychos is somehow supporting Iran, or Hamas before that. It's like their whole culture has evaporated any nuance at all. Only diametrically opposed good and evil battling forever. Professional wrestling stories with Heels and Faces divided by clear black lines.

I believe the old adage is that a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich. It'll be interesting to see what steps are taken to either turn the inevitable trial into either a political stage show, or a black box tribunal. If they think they can spin it hard enough that their propaganda machine can make this woman look like she did something wrong, we'll get that option. And I think that's most likely, since it's black woman and attacking her will be easy to get the base onboard for. But if they claim its all "national security" issues and refuse to have any press attention, we'll know they have less than nothing.

Either way, anyone paying attention saw the original footage last month knows these people did nothing wrong.

I'm going to get darker than is probably warranted for a moment, and just ask, how are none of these authoritarian shitbags not dead already? I know stochastic terrorism is primarily a right-winger trait, but no type of human ugliness is universal to just one side of the aisle. You'd think more people would be taking a crack at Stephen Miller, Russ Vought, Pam Bondi and the other ghouls.

If you'll forgive the cliche "Adulthood is realizing that Cheese is expensive and SO many people are on cocaine".

Hey man. Late to the party but I feel for you.

Listen, good friends, the lifelong ride or die types- are rarer than fucking diamonds. There are maybe two, maybe three people you meet like that in your whole life. If folks you thought were like that actually aren't, that sucks but it's not an indictment of you or your character. Its just the odds. Lots of people suck and go where the good times are, not where they are needed. And it doesn't mean you can't meet those diamond people later in life.

Suicide is often seen as an escape because people feel trapped in the "now". They can't see the future ahead of them. Well, let me tell you as someone was cheated on, got divorced, had a nervous breakdown, (9 months of meds, doctors and living with my parents) and built his life back brick by brick - new people, new town, new job- you have a future. I'm closer to 40 than 30 these days, and I'm telling you the pain fades. You have a future waiting, if you can get there.

My practical advice is limited. You're going to feel how you feel for as long as you need to. For me, it was more the shame than the heartbreak. I felt like everyone could see my "failure" stamped on my forehead. That was bullshit, but no amount of people telling me so reduced that feeling. But it is just a feeling. Being cheated on is not a character flaw. Being abused doesn't mean you deserved it. You've got to win the internal fight first - realize that feelings aren't always reflective of reality and pull out of the tail spin. How you feel is a distortion, and it can be modulated. You'll get there.

I went in for chest pains at the end of last year, I was shocked at how fast I was seen. Once they established I wasn't dying, I had a pretty long wait but overall service was really good and I paid nothing.

Well, not nothing, I've paid taxes my whole life. But I doubt I've paid the 6 figures amount that would've cost me in the US even if you add all my lifetime taxes together and during that time I still drove on roads and stuff.

Socialized medicine isn't just a better option, it's the only moral choice.

I'm an old man, but I'm 90% sure I'm saying this right: Fucking Based.

"What gender are you?"

"Lovecraftian nightmare tentacles"

"But what pronouns do you use?"

"It/Insanity Screeching"

"Hmm, I'm starting to think we mortals might be using restrictive definitions of shit"

The short answer is - yes, there are a bunch of ways to be legally in the United States without a green card. These tend to be temporary, or contingent on other things, so harder to track and produce immediate evidence of.

The longer answer is, it doesn't matter. Deportation is a tool in the government's tool kit for dealing with those who entered the country illegally - but Deportation is a process, with steps, due process and it requires the ability for the potential deportee to argue their case to an immigration judge. Being grabbed by masked thugs off the street, taking a brief layover in Louisiana while they fuel the plane and then being deported to a torture facility in El Salvador without so much as ever speaking to your lawyer is a contravention of your rights. Your human rights, your 5th Amendment rights, take your pick.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, for example, was never formally granted asylum. He missed the filing deadline of one year. However, in his original deportation trial he showed significant evidence and credible testimony that he had fled El Salvador to escape being forced to join the gang that was shaking down his family for protection money. The only reason he wasn't deported after that original hearing was that a Judge granted him hold order - stating he specifically could not be deported to El Salvador because his life would be in danger. It's unlikely he has any simple card or document that shows that order he could carry with him. In direct violation of that order, ICE sent him anyway. He's almost certainly dead.

Yes, but buying that game a 4th time seems excessive.