LaceyLou

He sure takes his faith seriously. At least that's what the Cardinal of NYC tells us.

I don't hate the idea

I'm not Jewish but not a Christian either.... Honestly? I felt more left out when I went through the motions and tried to celebrate a holiday that felt too commercial and 'in your face' for me. Perhaps Festivus would have been a better for me. 😉 Now I just see it as a day to relax, and not as a holiday. I feel better as an observer, and can enjoy looking at lights and decorations-and for some reason I've always been a fan of A Christmas Carol. I will admit I'm relieved when the seemingly 24/7 holiday music and cheesy Christmas movies stop.

Or as my family would say: Happy, happy!

Granted, it doesn't get below 20 here very often, but when it does-it would be really nice if people would remember that salt isn't effective on sidewalks when it gets that cold.

I'm picturing Major Burns having a tantrum because he's being replaced with Colonel Potter.

I always thought of it as people who didn't really practice their faith, except that their ancestors were Christian and they have presents and a lot of decorations at Christmas. Although since many of the traditions at Christmas have pagan origins, are they really cultural Christians?

Oh wow... are you going to steer clear of politics for this? It's a good story either way.

Interesting article on what it means to be a 'cultural Christian.' Personally I think Musk is only saying this for personal gain but the rest of the article is good. https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2024/1218/elon-musk-cultural-christian-richard-dawkins?utm_medium=Social&cmpid=FB&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawHQG7tleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWXE1eK95u_3SIE98_i3lLmBOcy3w9cKzVs458wsIfrGUAMOkkf4B5NN6g_aem_PMvf0oPWURx7ze5ak519jQ#Echobox=1734534997

Hmm, I was thinking of trying to move there, but maybe not now...

Sadly, I can see that happening.

I believe you're right, also a lot of the anti-vaxxers also were more likely to have an advanced degree and be upper class. I don't have any anti-vax acquaintances AFAIK, so I'm only going by what I read at the time. IIRC there were already places in some fairly well to do areas where childhood diseases were popping up again.

Prices *might* come down if there's a huge Depression, but I doubt people would like that any better than the inflation. And of course, there are other factors involved that could keep prices going up. The only other way I can think of it happening is an executive order saying that businesses *must* reduce their prices. I have no idea if that could even be done, but I have a better idea about how much those who bought and paid for him might react to that.

In Boston, it's a definite possibility.... (might be time to watch that movie again)

I still miss WFNX and WBCN. Sigh....

So far today I've gotten 3 smishing texts about packages the USPS supposedly can't deliver because of a problem with my zip code. All are from the Philippines, but from a different number each time. UGH.

Since I don't think it warrants its own thread.... are there any decent meal kit plans out there, especially ones with different dietary restrictions? Both of the ones I've tried in the past had meals that all tasted the same to me, and one of them later had a recall because one of its ingredients was causing serious liver/gall bladder issues.

Or the tried and true classic, "I know a guy who knows a guy....."

Permanent DST was tried in the 70s... I think it lasted a month before people got fed up with it, especially in the parts of the time zones that were the farthest West/North. I'm in the Eastern part of the EST and it would be dark until 8:30 am, and would still be dark when most people leave work. I'm guessing permanent ST wouldn't go so well in the summer in the Eastern parts of time zones. I do like the 5 am sunrises, since I get to work by 6, but 4 am? Doesn't sound appealing. So as much as I hate to say it, I think spring forward/fall back should stay: just change spring forward back to April so the change to dark mornings is not so sudden, and keep the fall back where it is.

It kind of reminds me of the people who want to ban DST, when in fact it's more likely they mean the opposite. I actually like Standard Time, so it wouldn't bother me much if they got their way. 😉 ETA: But whoever wrote that tweet about the popular vote was probably trying to be funny, and failed.

LOL, I take the subway just about every day. I will admit I've seen a lot of rats, even one that came straight up to me. On the whole, it's just like Sue said about the NY subway system: be aware of your surroundings, know where you're going (or at least look like you do), and keep your valuables safe if you have to have them. There's a reason I don't carry a purse, but keep my wallet in an inside pocket. There are a lot of the same people who ride the same trains every day, so I've made some good commuting friends over the years, too.

I agree. I'd definitely rather honor MLK.

IIRC there was an episode of Law and Order in which a man kills the insurance employee he saw as responsible for denying his child life-saving care. So maybe this was somebody who saw the episode and got the idea? I doubt it, but you really never know these days.

Eliminating the NIH? So much for medical research. I've already assumed that if "DOGE" is successful that my job (along with hundreds of thousands of others) would be in jeopardy, and yes eliminating the NIH and most likely all grants would definitely do that. How long it would take would depend on if they're able to cancel active grants, and how long the grants are for. The system is less than perfect, to be sure, and should definitely be evaluated regularly-that's another subject for another thread. This is another example of burning down a whole forest to get rid of a few sick trees though-and I'm about 98% sure that's true of VA healthcare also.

One of my favorite quotes is "if they're going to die they'd better do so and decrease the surplus population." At least some of the original Social Darwinists used their resources to build libraries and schools, because they argued that people needed the tools to be able to compete and get ahead (Carnegie is a good example, and I actually enjoyed his writing). Are there any like that today? Maybe Bill Gates... or is he busy trying to get control of people via chips in vaccines?