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Messages - Kat Kid

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1
Celtic / Bayern was a ton of fun. Very frustrating to let in that Harry Kane goal, Celtic could have easily tied or even gone on to win without giving that up.

3
amazing

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Trump Presidency
« on: February 11, 2025, 04:10:29 PM »
I would prefer Trump vacation/golf rather than doing President stuff.

5
The Gaza stuff, it should be noted, is actually Trump explaining a truly evil Blinken/Biden plan in an extremely dumb Trump way.

The bits about “never being able to return” and the United States “owning it” but also “not spending any money” is how he is metabolizing input from his assembled team of Middle East advisors that is all trying to expand Israel’s borders, build a new temple in Jerusalem and speed run the rapture.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 10, 2025, 02:19:29 PM »
The pet projects were selected through a competitive grant process. It's merit-based. And that's good news if true on the government getting mumped over on their loan.

That's way too overly simplistic.

The aggregators laundered money through to favorites and grifters to the tune of billions of dollars.

Then the ultimate recipient of the funds would then get up and tell people they don't get any Federal money, which is a total and complete lie.

When you have waste-fraud-abuse at this level, things are going to get paused.

I am not at all surprised that you are saying that about the nearly $2 billion the DOE threw down the drain . . . for a facility that even by environmentalist open admission, has ravaged the habitat and the animals that live in it.

this might bring back @sys

7
Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Pet Peeves
« on: February 10, 2025, 12:34:18 PM »
When they switched the KS Turnpike/I-70 toll from pay in person to online my account got messed up somehow. I have two vehicles and they only have one vehicle on that account. When I log in to pay my bill it says I don't have any charges so I have to wait until I get the mailed statement and pay an extra $1.50 or something and I can't set up autopay because my account doesn't actually get charged. 

I've tried to add my other vehicle to my account but it says that the license plate is associated with another account but there is no way to request that account info/password reset etc. Both vehicles are registered to me at the same address and I just don't want to spend 30 minutes on the phone with the KS Turnpike to get it all figured out.

 :shakesfist:

Finally got around to calling them and getting it sorted out. 10 minutes on hold but once I got someone on the line they got it fixed in like 5 minutes.

Look at you. :Wha:

8
I scrolled back a bit to see if this has come up recently, but had to stop once I read "Will Spradling".

Gentlemen, what's the best sock to wear when you're wearing a casual/business casual sneaker/tennis shoe and shorts?

I really like the nike crew socks that now come in a variety of earth tones and more neutral colors. They are pretty warm and also don't absorb sweat like a "dress sock" with fun designs does for me. Can wear them all day then keep them on for the gym. Game Changer.

9
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 10, 2025, 10:07:06 AM »
nbd, just goofin' with the full faith and credit of the dollar.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/trump-says-us-might-have-less-debt-than-thought-2025-02-09/

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 09, 2025, 01:10:52 PM »
I don’t think it’s the US government’s job/responsibility to fund the eradication of disease throughout the world.  Working to reduce AIDS in Uganda (and every other disease everywhere else) is certainly a noble thing to do, but I don’t think we’re necessarily obliged to do that. 

I do think it’s the US government’s job to prohibit its citizens from affirmatively killing other innocent human beings.

I don’t think there’s an inconsistency there.

I think the frustrating thing that I find is that the US is big on collective action when it comes to arming and funding wars, if we want to start retreating from that way of engaging the world too then I guess I understand it. But the idea that the United States will just have an infinite amount of power to just act upon the world with no negative consequences is the most insane part of the strategy Trump has embarked upon.

I was not in love with the neoliberal consensus, I think the UN and the myriad international agreements and treaties were imperfect at best, but it at least used to mean something and the US at least pretended to follow it.  I could of course back it up to Reagan or LBJ or Nixon or some of the wild stuff we've done in the past, but I think the presidents of my adult life tell the story well of how we gave up on international law.

Bush-torture, Iraq, Guantanamo, NSA surveillance, FISA,
Obama- drone strikes/kill lists, triple tapping weddings and funerals, JSOC expansion/consolidation of executive actions, allowing? ordering? his own CIA spy on the Senate investigating, not doing much of anything to re-set and roll back expansion of executive power, not doing anything to reign in settlement construction or make support for Israel contingent on compliance with international law
Trump- undoing the one achievement of the Iran treaty, continuing with drone strikes, giving Israel carte blanche, threatening nuclear war here and there as a treat
Biden- accepted total blame for two decades Afghanistan policy and pulled troops out, but literally everything else was pretty much a total disaster--China, Israel/Gaza, Saudi, Ukraine, Iran, Japan (Nippon steel deal), Korea, all absolute failures of any sort of coherent policy, toothless and impotent


The United States is losing the ability to even craft international agreements because everyone understands that we are an unreliable partner that will blow up pretty much anything depending upon which way the wind blows and we won't actually abide by any international constraint or agreement if we don't think it suits are own short term interest or just want to play domestic politics with it even if it doesn't even make sense to change policy.

We are watching an empire die.

Not trying to diminish your post but I read that entire bolded part to the tune and cadence of We Didn’t Start The Fire

My wife unironically likes the fall out boy remake, which is terrible, but maybe I can do a Ramones style punk version.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 09, 2025, 11:10:29 AM »
He is free to say or believe whatever he wants. We shouldn't forget that it's ultimately the executive and legislative branches that are empowering him.

Sure? But do you really think Trump has a clue?

12
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 09, 2025, 10:14:08 AM »
Wouldn't you know it, Elon thinks possibly the most successful government program in US history is full of FRAUD!

https://x.com/DeanBaker13/status/1888601650505331143

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 09, 2025, 09:44:26 AM »
I don’t think it’s the US government’s job/responsibility to fund the eradication of disease throughout the world.  Working to reduce AIDS in Uganda (and every other disease everywhere else) is certainly a noble thing to do, but I don’t think we’re necessarily obliged to do that. 

I do think it’s the US government’s job to prohibit its citizens from affirmatively killing other innocent human beings.

I don’t think there’s an inconsistency there.

I think the frustrating thing that I find is that the US is big on collective action when it comes to arming and funding wars, if we want to start retreating from that way of engaging the world too then I guess I understand it. But the idea that the United States will just have an infinite amount of power to just act upon the world with no negative consequences is the most insane part of the strategy Trump has embarked upon.

I was not in love with the neoliberal consensus, I think the UN and the myriad international agreements and treaties were imperfect at best, but it at least used to mean something and the US at least pretended to follow it.  I could of course back it up to Reagan or LBJ or Nixon or some of the wild stuff we've done in the past, but I think the presidents of my adult life tell the story well of how we gave up on international law.

Bush-torture, Iraq, Guantanamo, NSA surveillance, FISA,
Obama- drone strikes/kill lists, triple tapping weddings and funerals, JSOC expansion/consolidation of executive actions, allowing? ordering? his own CIA spy on the Senate investigating, not doing much of anything to re-set and roll back expansion of executive power, not doing anything to reign in settlement construction or make support for Israel contingent on compliance with international law
Trump- undoing the one achievement of the Iran treaty, continuing with drone strikes, giving Israel carte blanche, threatening nuclear war here and there as a treat
Biden- accepted total blame for two decades Afghanistan policy and pulled troops out, but literally everything else was pretty much a total disaster--China, Israel/Gaza, Saudi, Ukraine, Iran, Japan (Nippon steel deal), Korea, all absolute failures of any sort of coherent policy, toothless and impotent

The United States is losing the ability to even craft international agreements because everyone understands that we are an unreliable partner that will blow up pretty much anything depending upon which way the wind blows and we won't actually abide by any international constraint or agreement if we don't think it suits are own short term interest or just want to play domestic politics with it even if it doesn't even make sense to change policy.

We are watching an empire die.

14
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Trump Presidency
« on: February 09, 2025, 09:27:20 AM »
Here's a thought I've been working on since President Elon took over. And it's not solidified, so I'd love any and all feedback.

Let's say right now the US pays x number of dollars into a fund. It costs every US resident, personally, $1000 a year. This fund helps children around the world receive food, medicine, education, AIDS treatment, etc. And let's say this fund gets axed by President Musk. Every individual gets to keep their $1000 this year and one, JUST ONE!, 5 year old in Uganda loses their life because they no longer get their AIDS treatment.

Do you take that trade?
And when you think of which party is cheering on the "cutting funds and asking questions later" approach to government, what political party do you think of? The pro-life one, or the pro-choice one? And when you think about the fact that it's actually costing you way less than that, then why tf do you care about this crap at all?

I don't know, I would absolutely love for someone to find a way that would allow me to keep more of my taxes. But I would love for it to come from people who don't need it, not the people who need it the most.

I have some bad news about these United States of America.

15
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 08, 2025, 01:23:03 PM »
Clearer than ever to me now that Trump and Republicans are letting Musk be the bad guy so that they can do their favorite thing in the world and deliver more tax cuts for rich people.
I agree.

I want desperately to believe that we really will cut $1 trillion and then being in a position to smartly reinvest in federal spending in a way that makes sense in this day and age given the challenges that are of the highest priority to our population and be freed from the burden of the legacy of the massive bureaucracy That has grown over the decades and decade.

But unfortunately, Republicans are going to Republican .

Saying you would like to cut $1 trillion from the federal budget but you aren’t going to touch the pentagon is insane.

16
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Trump Presidency
« on: February 08, 2025, 01:21:33 PM »
My bet is that the Republicans shift Social Security to a model where it’s based on what you paid in and it fucks everybody who had low paying jobs, unless you were a homemaker in which case they will reward that as long as your husband paid in the maximum.

The amount you get from Social Security is already based on what you paid in.
Not entirely. You could’ve paid in nothing and you can still get it as long as you are married or you meet certain conditions..

Besides being a spouse or former spouse and those eligible for survivor benefits, who can get Social Security without paying in?

Disabled, orphans, probably forgetting some other categories

The only thing you can get without paying any taxes is SSI which is not a Social Security program. It is run by the Social Security Admininstration, but is a separate program from those funded with Social Security taxes. SSI is funded by general taxes.

I take your point about the social security administration administering programs that are not “social security.”

My bias is toward giving them more responsibilities—like direct payments for the child tax credit instead of a tax credit for instance. The SSA is a very efficient government program.

17
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: The Trump Presidency
« on: February 08, 2025, 11:38:42 AM »
My bet is that the Republicans shift Social Security to a model where it’s based on what you paid in and it fucks everybody who had low paying jobs, unless you were a homemaker in which case they will reward that as long as your husband paid in the maximum.

The amount you get from Social Security is already based on what you paid in.
Not entirely. You could’ve paid in nothing and you can still get it as long as you are married or you meet certain conditions..

Besides being a spouse or former spouse and those eligible for survivor benefits, who can get Social Security without paying in?

Disabled, orphans, probably forgetting some other categories

18
Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Pet Peeves
« on: February 06, 2025, 12:21:19 PM »
People that put down blankets to save seats at any event immediately makes me angry.

The SW people really get me. I can totally get saving a seat for someone that failed to check in on time, but there should be a penalty. You can't save a seat within the first 15 or so rows or something. Also, saving multiple seats and across the aisle is kicked off the plane territory.

I do not respect SW seat saver’s wishes. Those are not the rules of the game.

I just say “sorry” and give the frown smile.
Awful business model, but they ended that policy, correct?

People will still try to put stuff on the middle seat during boarding.

19
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Israel - Hamas peace process
« on: February 06, 2025, 12:19:20 PM »
Not gE'ing here. This is an interesting article with a helpful overview of the issues at stake:

https://x.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1887168079647359168

"a messianic war against Israel's existence" is not very descriptive of the relative power between Gaza and Israel. It is completely unhinged. The most powerful military on the planet and a nuclear powered military regional power have currently destroyed 70% of the standing structures in Gaza, are currently suggesting that the 2 million people there are "re-settled" and that the US will rebuild the place and then let the "people of the world" re-settle there. Trump has also hinted that he may let Israel annex the West Bank in 4 weeks.

All of this with the ongoing, stated threat that Israel resumes bombing Gaza in the interim.

In the course of this war Israel has also taken more land from Syria and Lebannon.

Considering the many, many statements of intent for Israel to expel Palestinians (now with even more direct US assistance!), it is worth pondering if maybe the reverse of the statement is a better summary of the situation. Israel (and the US) is involved in a messianic war against Palestine's existence.

20
Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Pet Peeves
« on: February 06, 2025, 10:33:51 AM »
People that put down blankets to save seats at any event immediately makes me angry.

The SW people really get me. I can totally get saving a seat for someone that failed to check in on time, but there should be a penalty. You can't save a seat within the first 15 or so rows or something. Also, saving multiple seats and across the aisle is kicked off the plane territory.

I do not respect SW seat saver’s wishes. Those are not the rules of the game.

I just say “sorry” and give the frown smile.

21
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Israel - Hamas peace process
« on: February 05, 2025, 06:17:43 PM »
Cleanup —

Quote
President Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to clarify Trump’s Tuesday night proposal to seize control of the Gaza Strip and displace its population after some Republicans raised objections about a new U.S. military occupation overseas.?“Witkoff said that the president doesn’t want to put any troops into Gaza, and that he doesn’t want to spend any U.S. money on Gaza,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), after Witkoff delivered a presentation to Senate Republicans over a private lunch meeting.?But Witkoff did not suggest that Trump had abandoned his proposal that Gaza’s population of 2.2 million Palestinians be displaced from their land.?“He painted a scenario of a Gazan family moving back into tents, thinking ‘I’m going to get back into a dwelling in five years,’ and that is just not going to happen. It is a wasteland of rubble,” said one senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe Witkoff’s presentation. Arab states — who have so far reacted in anger to Trump’s remarks — would have to take the Palestinians, Witkoff told them.?How? Money. The senator said other Arab governments could be enticed with the offer of treaties and deals that would provide “hundreds of billions of dollars to their economy,” in exchange for resettling the Palestinians.?“It’s clear to me the administration believes there’s a win-win situation with some Arab countries, where it would become so financially attractive to them to accept these displaced Gazans,” the senator said.?Hawley said that one senator asked Witkoff if perhaps Trump was just speaking off the cuff, tossing out ideas as they came to him, as he sometimes does. Witkoff assured them he was not.?Trump has been “gestating on this plan for some time,” Hawley said, describing the exchange. He didn’t provide further details on the plan, though.

No the US won’t be paying for any of this (sorry purple wood)

The US “doesn’t want” to send in any US troops.

The “resettlement may be temporary”

And somehow there will be hundreds of billions of dollars for Arab states that take Palestinian refugees for resettlement.

Other than that it sounds like the plan is very straightforward, moral, fair, legal, and going to work.


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Kansas State Football / Re: Future schedule update...
« on: February 05, 2025, 03:13:52 PM »
I know one kstate fan who won't be going....sys.

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https://x.com/greg16676935420/status/1886890293452268031

You can thank the tax prep industry for this. The IRS could have an online tool for everyone, and easily for the vast majority of W2 people a very simple form but they aren't allowed to because there is money to be made.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Israel - Hamas peace process
« on: February 05, 2025, 03:10:30 PM »
Has anyone addressed where Gaza will get the money to rebuild?  And this if it isn't from us.

Gulf states as part of a grand bargain to recognize Israel as part of a 2-state solution. But that was when everyone was pretending that international law and order was something you pretended to do. We are definitely in a post-international law era now. No need to pretend anymore that a 2 state solution is going to happen.

Correct.  So if this is true then it will most likely come from OPEC nations which would be a concern to me.  And I say this because of who is apart of OPEC.  Not sure this would be the best option which then leads me to ask, why not us?

Why would gulf states paying for construction in Gaza be a concern to you?

25
The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Let's talk about Elon Musk
« on: February 05, 2025, 03:08:29 PM »
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/05/duffy-musk-air-traffic-control-00202611

Quote
Elon Musk’s “DOGE” cost-cutting squad will soon turn its attention to America’s air traffic control system, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday in a post to Musk’s social media site X.

“Talked to the DOGE team. They are going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system,” Duffy said.

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