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[quote=zk][quote=njtosd]
Do you know anyone, zk, who likes to be wrong? There is equal jerkish behavior on both sides of the political fence – it just bugs you more when you don’t agree with the jerk’s politics.

[/quote]

No, nobody likes to be wrong. That was my point.

And I don’t disagree with their politics as much as you probably think. I have many views that are right of center.

What bugs me is that this massive apparatus, the right-wing noise machine, is set up to manipulate them. If there were a left-wing noise machine that continually and powerfully and pervasively, ubiquitously, even, tried to manipulate those who lean left, that would bug me just as much.

What I would like is for there to be less emotional manipulation going on. People being told how to feel and then feeling that way. Never mind how to think; thinking, unfortunately, doesn’t even enter into it.[/quote]

I believe that both sides have massive noise machines designed to encourage the “manipulatees” to make political donations. You can’t be a hero if there isn’t a crisis. I have pointed out in other posts that people’s politics have been shown to have a genetic and perhaps biochemical basis. For example: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-genes-of-left-and-right/

And I see the ongoing political debate as something similar to a cat arguing with a rabbit about whether meat is better than grass. The two sides see the world very differently. And I believe the rabbit and the cat both believe the other is stupid for its preferences and that if they could just express things the right way, that stupid rabbit/cat will see the light. Plus it’s fun to feel smug and trade stories with other cats/rabbits about the absolute obliviousness and/or moral depravity of the other group. It’s as old as the hills. Doesn’t anyone see it?

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[quote=zk][quote=FlyerInHi]
The question we have to ask ourselves is why a large portion of the population feels anger and resentment at this new knowledge of police abuse. Why do they try to minimize and justify it by pointing to what they feel are more pressing problems?

[/quote]

That’s easy. I can sum it up in 4 words: Right-wing noise machine. They’ve been brainwashed into thinking that the view of the world they want to be real (which includes most black people being the bad guys and all cops being the good guys) is reality. And humans get upset when their view of reality is challenged, especially if it’s one they’ve invested a lot of emotional energy in. And they don’t like to be wrong.[/quote]

You realize that your answer can be condensed somewhat: Those other guys (who are totally weak minded and prejudiced) are causing this “minimizing” (although no data has been supplied that suggests that any “minimizing” has happened). In other words, even theoretical issues are “the other guy’s fault”.

When are people going to accept that others can disagree with them politically without being stupid racists (conservatives) or hypocritical narcissists (liberals)? And frankly – I agree that conservatives don’t like to be wrong. Neither do liberals. Do you know anyone, zk, who likes to be wrong? There is equal jerkish behavior on both sides of the political fence – it just bugs you more when you don’t agree with the jerk’s politics.

I don’t like the behavior that a lot of these police officers have been accused of. . But when did a virtual jury of the Internet replace a careful and thorough investigation? Police behaving badly makes great copy for the news networks, but there is a reason we pay people to conduct careful investigations before we decide to prosecute.

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[quote=FlyerInHi]For sure cameras are bringing old habits to light. Now everyone has portable phone/camera. It won’t be long before there are cameras are everywhere. Even cars will have front facing and rear facing cameras that record on a loop. Now we have proof of police abuse.

The question we have to ask ourselves is why a large portion of the population feels anger and resentment at this new knowledge of police abuse. Why do they try to minimize and justify it by pointing to what they feel are more pressing problems?

Sociologists must be busy doing research and writing papers.[/quote]

Who is pointing to these more pressing problems? Everything that I’ve heard suggests that these instances of abuse are investigated pretty thoroughly.

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[quote=doofrat]With a variable speed pump, it costs me less than $25 a month to filter the pool for 8 hours a day. I run it at 1400 RPM (which uses 186 watts) for 6 hours and another 1-2 hours with the pool monster at about 500 watts (using a straight through leaf basket to the pool monster saves about 150 Watts).

In the winter, our electric tends to hit tier 4 earlier, so that offsets the savings a bit on having to run the pump less, but it’s probably just south of $20 a month for power.

With solar, it costs me about 20-30 cents in the summer to heat the spa to 101.

If you use the pool a lot (stirring it up), running the pump at a lower speed actually cleans the pool better than running it at high speed. I didn’t believe it until I tried it, but it’s true, and a lot cheaper.

Also, replace those incandescent bulbs in the pool and spa with LEDs(in ours, they were each 300 watts). I put a cheap Chinese one in the spa and a good one from Home Depot in the pool and they both work well. The Chinese one isn’t as bright as the good one from the Depot, but has changing colors and such. The combined power in now only 45 watts.[/quote]

Hmm – very interesting. I need to look into this a little further. Do you mind sending along the brand and horsepower of your pump?

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If your pool stays clean with 8hrs circulation a day, your pump is working. You can get a variable speed pump which apparently takes about 6 years to pay for itself (according to my pool guy, who I’ve had for over 15 yrs). Apparently a standard pool (with a solar heater) costs roughly $150/month in energy costs. If yours seems a lot higher, your filter might need to be cleaned or repaired. Pool guy does a great job -let me know if you need his name –

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[quote=zk][quote=scaredyclassic][quote=zk]Maybe the guy in India is as happy as the guy at the garden store.[/quote]

maybe. i felt an uncomfortable pause after i said my household income. like it pricked him. i could be projecting.

the guy in the garden store was having a really truly good time. told me hed spent 10 years working at a gas station and this job was awesome in comparison…of course, i didnt tell him my income, but he mightve thought i was a rich idiot, spending so much cash on giant pots…although frankly he didnt seem the type to judge.

i kinda wanted to hang out with him. maybe get trained to work there? that is, if money were no object. which is obviously not the case…[/quote]

Question: If you could trade places with the guy at the garden store, would you? (Leaving your family out of the equation.) You’d have his job and also his innate ability to be happy. You’d work in the garden store, and you’d be happy. You wouldn’t have much money.

You hear people say that how happy you are is a choice, but I think that’s only true to a very small extent. I think (and research says) a person spends most of his life hovering around his spot on the happiness spectrum, and it doesn’t really matter if he’s putting effort into being happy, and it doesn’t really matter if he’s a well-off lawyer or an $11/hour garden-store guy. It doesn’t even matter if he’s paralyzed or blind.

I was in NYC last summer on vacation. I’m having a decent time on vacation, and here I am on the subway. I’m probably mildly stressing about dinner accommodations or tomorrow’s itinerary. Three Jamaican maids walk in and sit down. They’re talking and laughing and sparkling. Two of them were, anyway. The other was happy to be along for the ride. I felt the same way about them as you did about the garden store guy. I wanted to hang out with them.

To me, being born (or raised, or whatever it is) with that level of happiness is worth far more than being born with the advantages of wealth, intelligence, first-world residence, educational opportunities, dominant race, good looks, or just about anything else.[/quote]

I have this discussion with my kids: would you take a drug that would reduce your IQ 20% but would guarantee that you’re happy for the rest of your life? Please no one argue about the relevance of IQ (we can just call it intellect).

Another way to put it: before I had my first child I worried about Down Syndrome. But DS kids are generally happy and loving. What I would worry about now is Autism – kids who find it hard to be socially integrated or content, and there’s no prenatal test for it.

[njtosd]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=zk][quote=FlyerInHi]
I would not discount the usefulness of jewelry. With them, you can buy the affection of your wife, your daughter-in-law, grand children, etc.. . Heirlooms tie people together through the generations.[/quote]

Why would you want to buy somebody’s affection? Why would you want the affection of somebody whose affection could be bought? Why would you want affection that was really for a diamond and not for you?[/quote]

Sometimes it’s necessary. Not necessarily a diamond but something expensive.. Let’s say your wife stood by you when your were poor. Now that you’re rich you have to reward her. My neighbor in Vegas bought his wife a Bentley. We went to dinner and she said she chose him because she always knew that he would make it. She saw the enterpreneurial spirit in the young man who was wooing her.

I don’t think good looks and personality are enough. You need a job and income to buy things.

Or let’s say your son married someone who didn’t like you. You may wish you had an heirloom to pass down to her to buy her loyalty. Someone has to buy that jewelry at one point.[/quote]
Once again, shaking my head. No item could make me like someone that I wouldn’t otherwise. I think you need to go back to your home planet, Brian.

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[quote=FlyerInHi]I’m taking a victory lap because I always knew it to be true.
Trump supporters tend to be resistant to change. They take offense to many little changes they perceive as elitist and out of their realm. They perceive sushi, sriracha sauce, padthai as unamerican and elitist. But they embrace burritos and quesadillas, as long as people don’t speak Spanish around them.

For Whites Sensing Decline, Donald Trump Unleashes Words of Resistance
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/us/politics/donald-trump-white-identity.html%5B/quote%5D

Brian, your sweeping, unsupported and somewhat childish generalizations are amusing, but the question is: do you understand how ridiculous they sound?

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[quote=XBoxBoy]Worth noting, a VOSD article states that Collins is the second-highest paid K-12 public school educator in the state. For me, this incident drives home the fact that just because you pay your Big Boss (whether CEO or School Superintendent) big bucks doesn’t mean you get someone who will do a good job. Every time I hear someone say that CEO’s (or whatever title) needs to be paid that amount so that we can get someone capable, I can’t help but think that person doesn’t have a clue how the world really works.[/quote]

Sometimes the amount that people are paid is commensurate with their abilities. Sometimes it isn’t. The problem is that people don’t seem to be able to distinguish between a good applicant and a bad one. Or, they are forced to hire someone whose resume looks right even though they don’t seem like a fantastic candidate. The last principal at our local elementary was bad, and was quietly moved into a position where he didn’t have to deal with people.

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[quote=flu]I think I ‘m going try the $15.99 made in china harbor freight special tomorrow morning.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-metric-s-type-wrench-set-99699.html

lifetime warranty

I’d get a set from sears, but sears stopped having craftsman tools made in the usa. It’s probably sourced from the same place that harbor freight gets their tools.

I think I have a 20% off one item coupon and a get a free led flashlight coupon too[/quote]

Or a free digital multimeter, or a set of screwdrivers. I love Harbor Freight. We just got a great set of solar garden lights for next to nothing.

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[quote=PCinSD][quote=njtosd][quote=Hatfield][quote=Balboa]it’s just as likely that a judge would tell them to suck it.[/quote]

Only one way to find out![/quote]

That is the key. Filing suit is expensive – even small claims court costs something and is time consuming. Finding out what a judge would do would probably cost more than what was deducted. The legal system is not designed to deal with issues like this and frankly shouldn’t. The cost in government resources would be way too high.[/quote]

If he doesn’t pay the “lawyer”, it’s up to the lawyer to file the small claims lawsuit. Cost is minimal.

As a lawyer, this pisses me off.[/quote]

What part pisses you off?

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[quote=Hatfield][quote=Balboa]it’s just as likely that a judge would tell them to suck it.[/quote]

Only one way to find out![/quote]

That is the key. Filing suit is expensive – even small claims court costs something and is time consuming. Finding out what a judge would do would probably cost more than what was deducted. The legal system is not designed to deal with issues like this and frankly shouldn’t. The cost in government resources would be way too high.

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[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl][quote=FlyerInHi]I would go for 1) commute of less than 30 min. 2) best schools possible.

If OP tells the general area her husband works then people could post better recommendations.[/quote]

Agree with the commute time, FIH. But “best schools possible” in the ~$400K (or less) price range for a 3/2/2 (and a ~$1200 mo PITI payment) might actually be in an attendance area of a school rated a 7 or 8 (if you’re lucky). And that’s actually okay!

Since you have never been a parent, you have never had to face reality in this manner.[/quote]

BG, I know lots with families kids and I observe.
I have it all planned out. One day I will adapt an orphan from a poor country and give him/her the best education in America and Europe, with frequent travel to the home country. That kid will grow up to be a polyglot super human.[/quote]

I had friends who did this – a French couple living here in the US in a large city. They adopted kids from overseas that, as it turned out, had significant behavioral issues (that is a euphemism but I won’t go into details). The kids have torn the family apart. Raising a child as a single parent would be TOUGH – the fact that you act like you’re buying a dog or some fish makes me wonder (even more) about what planet you are from.

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[quote=SK in CV][quote=AN][quote=SK in CV]So you’re saying that we can’t do shit about cops killing blacks at 3 times the rate of whites until somebody makes some noise about Chicago. [/quote]
Never said that, so stop putting words in my mouth. Whatever, I’m done.[/quote]

Ok, fair enough. That’s not what you said. Why do you want to see equal rage? Why is that important? Why do you think there isn’t equal rage?[/quote]

Well – there is a clear difference. Police are representatives of our society, employed by our governments and provided with special powers. They are held to a higher standard than the random people on the street. The San Diego police, for example, are acting on behalf of me and other citizens. Random acts of violence in San Diego are not carried out on my behalf, or on behalf of any other citizens.

Which is not to say that any of it is ok, but there is a significant difference.

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[quote=SK in CV][quote=poorgradstudent]I’m certainly curious how the NRA will respond to the recent tragedies.[/quote]

Tragedies? As far as the NRA is concerned, they weren’t tragedies. They were successes. You know….good (white) guy with a gun. Crickets. That’s what you’ll here. Crickets.[/quote]

I’m not a member of the NRA and I don’t like (or own) guns. But just because someone is in favor gun ownership doesn’t make them racist homicidal maniacs.

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