Happy2BaMom
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You're conflating a legal right to privacy with personal boundaries. It's obvious that many people have decided that a public figure has no right to personal boundaries, about health or anything else, simply because they are famous. Whether that's right (or humane) or not is another matter. The BRF has always been a clusterf**k of dysfunction, PhotoshopGate is just another example. I'm not sure why the issue of the British Princess of Wales' abdominal surgery & recovery time matters so much to Americans, but it has become quite the obsession. (ETA: not referring to general interest/commentary, but the fever pitch interest has reached in the last ~2 weeks) I was unable to find such a link in either source.
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National Forests (30% of federal holdings & only 8% of total US land) supply ~3 Billion board feet of timber per year (mandated for use in the US), with hunting, mining, drilling and fracking also allowed. One can argue about the appropriateness of those uses, but the US has no other domestic sources to replace them. National Forests are also a significant source of recreation for many, many other people, and one of the few places left in the US for wildlife (whose populations are universally crashing) to continue to try and exist. The state you're most likely referring to is Idaho (& it's capitol, Boise), with the Boise National Forest lying just outside. The BNF is a major source of recreation & tourism dollars for the Boise area, as well as the other products mentioned above. I'm sure there is some percentage of people willing to chop it into little parcels for suburban development and ranchettes, but it would also permanently remove that land (& the important economic & social benefits it supplies) from many in Idaho, as well as the rest of the US public. I disagree that government held lands are a "huge factor" in keeping the housing supply limited in the West. Here's a breakdown/map of all federal land holdings in the US. The majority of it is in low & lower-populated areas. Much of it is BLM land, located in rural desert (& semi-desert) areas, but which still provide significant benefits to the US public. To me, expecting public lands (that provide ongoing economic & social benefits to the US as a whole) to be sold to benefit a very few private individuals, constitutes a form of entitlement. The US has one of the lowest housing densities in the entire world. Much of the housing crisis could be solved through building higher-density housing units, but we lack the will and don't want to face the fact that an ever-expanding population (>200,000 net people each day on earth, and >1 million new people each year in the US) on a planet and in a country with finite space will require many to live in high-density units. (Side note: for the curious, remaining federal lands are held by Fish & Wildlife (from memory, ~14%), the National Parks, the military, and a few random other entities.)
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I do not think any government should (further) restrict property rights of individuals who own & live in their own single family home/property. I disagree that government should be limited from restricting those individuals or corporations who own multiple homes (of any sort). I do think those restrictions should be driven by state and local governments, to allow more localized decision making, but citizens have little recourse to control STRs & corporate ownership other than through government. I'm curious - exactly what excess land holdings are you referring to? The only excess land most towns hold are parks. Ditto for states, albeit there are also state forests. As far as federal lands, there are some states where the feds hold a lot of land, but much of that land is designated as National Forest, Wilderness Refuge, and/or BLM land. Most of the land the federal government holds are in the western states and much of the land is not near a population center, so it's not going to help anyone looking for housing near a city. Not to mention that what you're really talking about is taking the last bits of green or open space that remain and allowing them to be carved up and paved over.
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No, I hadn't seen that, thanks for mentioning.
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I've been behind on my reading, just saw this (from last August): "SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can cause lasting damage to energy production by mitochondria in many organs of the body. Stopping the virus from hijacking mitochondrial energy production may be a novel way to prevent serious complications from SARS-CoV-2 infection." Link here Probably already covered here, but thought it was worth mentioning. My PCP tells me (we occasionally still talk about C19, as she knows I'm interested in following the research) that while C19 is transmitted as a respiratory illness, it has also been classified as a vascular disease, with the ability to trigger severe inflammation in people. Somehow those last two parts seem to frequently get lost......
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How has anyone been callous? I'm really curious where you are seeing that. ETA: I'd really like to know the specific comments that anyone has made that makes you conclude they/we are callous about this mass shooting.
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As is the desperation to single him out - and him alone. Multiple teammates were also there....why aren't they the focus of any outrage? Patrick Mahomes was not only also there, but apparently it was his idea to have the party in the first place (this decision was prior to the shooting). Yet no one is raking him over the coals. I guess it's easier to focus one's outrage on *one* bumble-headed football player rather than the politicians who have repeatedly enabled and encouraged mass shootings by promoting constant open carry as a point of machisimo and FREEDOM (TM)?
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Two depressing articles just out: Covid-19 behind thousands of excess deaths in US (note: 90% of these were not reported as C19) Insomnia common months after even mild C19 infections (side note: reported insomnia after C19 is MUCH higher than insomnia reported by general population....by >50%) For extra funsies (/s), see the accompanying link on these to the article detailing the shortness of breath that nearly half of those hospitalized with C19 experience months later...including kids. ********************************************** I've become convinced that humanity is going to largely off itself due to it's own stupidity.
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My sister took it for awhile. I can't take any product that has over-supplementation, given that I have low/early-stage kidney disease (which I manage successfully through diet). Given everything I've learned, I would be cautious about dumping a lot of extra work on your kidneys (even if they are healthy) for vits/minerals that you may not even need, or need in such excessive amounts. Anything excess is extra work for kidneys (they must filter the excess), and CKD is rapidly increasing in this country, even in populations that did not previously experience it. I can't help but wonder if all the focus on high-protein diets (excess protein, esp animal protein, is quite hard on the kidneys) and high levels of OTC supplements, are contributing to the problem. Sometimes taking care of your body means not giving it too much, as well as ensuring it has enough.
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Ok. I’ll start the post about the big angry outburst
Happy2BaMom replied to Indigo Blue's topic in The Chat Board
How is a six-year relationship a poor track record? Did people sleep through that? That ended not that long ago and now she is dating Kelce. Yes, she was flighty in her early 20's. Like no one else is or was? Especially when she was/is under endless public scrutiny. Why does no one ever point out the 'poor track record' of the many successful men that exist in entertainment? It's SUCH a one-sided criticism.- 94 replies
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Ok. I’ll start the post about the big angry outburst
Happy2BaMom replied to Indigo Blue's topic in The Chat Board
For the record, Taylor & Joe Alwen had a six-year relationship. Longer than many marriages. I will admit to feeling a certain bit of enjoyment at watching all the heads explode over her relationship with Kelce. Like, seriously, the shiny outrage bubble needed a new place to land, and it has now found a home. And I've been wondering where it would go. (TravelingChris...I'm not aiming these statements at you, I mean them is a 'general culture' way.) -
Ok. I’ll start the post about the big angry outburst
Happy2BaMom replied to Indigo Blue's topic in The Chat Board
This. Americans *worship* football. It's a religion, esp in certain subgroups/areas of the country. *High schools* spend tens of millions on football games, stadiums, support & coverups for behavior of football stars. That x100 for pro-teams. It's a BRUTAL, violent game. It's been known now for....decades?...several/many years at least....that participation in this sport permanently damages brains after not even much playing time. Has it changed anything? No, not really. Last night's behavior is just another outbreak in a long string of players' losing it in one way or another. Nothing is going to happen to Kelce. He's one of the top players in the NFL and is in no small part responsible for the Chiefs' success, including last night's SB win. Many pearls will be clutched and it will all be forgotten by next week (which does not imply that I think it *should* be forgotten, I'm just cynical - and realistic, I think - that it will). -
I'd also like to counter-point that, even if that info is available now, KC may need a few days to personally process a (likely) major life blow before pretty much the entire world discusses his very personal health issue(s) on every media outlet known to man.
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That article is sobering. Chances of long covid are 25% with each infection for the unvaccinated and 10% for the vaccinated. C19 infection can & does cause a persistent viral infection in the heart that damages heart tissue potentially leading many to potentially experience early heart failure. These things are HUUUUUGGGGGEEEEE. From a local article that a family member sent me: "When you’re in clinical practice and see the accumulating number of people with long COVID, this is genuinely scary …. It can take your career away,” Matthew said. COVID is not only underreported and underestimated, he said, but also undertreated." (side note: Matthew is an MD and Medical Director of the Univ of VT Health Center.) We're learning so much more about this virus - none of it good.
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Affordable housing models that could work?
Happy2BaMom replied to scholastica's topic in The Chat Board
That's the way AirBnB started, but that isn't really the case anymore. According to AirDNA (a data & analytics company specializing in vacation rental companies; report available through link), only 38% of AirBnB listings are homeowners with a single listing. In some vacation hot spots, corporate ownership can be up to 90% of the listings. Which is not to take away from the fact that 38% is still 38%, and those individuals should be exempted from any gov't requirements, restrictions, & taxes that should (IMHO) be applied to corporate & multiple-property ownerships. -
There's a lot wrapped up in this statement. For a small business, business owners usually do *not* take home income when their businesses lose money. Contrast this with modern-day CEOs, who continue to take home millions of dollars per year EVEN WHEN their business loses money. In good years, a small business owner will often take home more money (sometimes much more) than the workers for whom he/she has paid. That's one of the main perks of owning one's business (besides hopefully building equity in the business itself). Most workers do not have the same opportunity to gain by a business doing well, nor are they usually rewarded through equity, which is why 'wages' are a business expense. A salary or hourly wage is what is necessary to keep people working for a company. Different levels of risk. How many multiples more than the average wage a CEO should get for heading a large company vs a small one is something people can argue, but what is obviously clear is that our economic inequality is becoming not dissimilar to many other less developed countries. The top 1% in this country now own more than the entire middle class. As recently as 1990, the middle class owned *twice as much* wealth as the top 1%. In the past thirty years, that has been completely erased and is now rapidly reversing. And it is now becoming increasingly common for private & public equity (including a recent fund being started by Jeff Bezos) to buy up housing. This is Monopoly (does no one remember how it ends?) for future generations. My point is that you can pick at the hyperbole in a small statement about CEO compensation, but if you're not applying that same focus to the overall system that is - yes - deliberately & systematically removing financial stability and well-being from tens of millions of people (all to further enrich the already rich), you're missing the point.
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Very true. Yet no amount of cutting back on "wants" will change the fact that the increasing cost of the BASICS - housing, automobile, health care, child care, any form of higher education or training (necessary to attain almost any decent job) - has far outpaced wages for so very many Americans. And a lot of young people now are doing the minimalist lifestyle, including not having children (for which, of course, they face a lot of judgment).
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You & me both. I've really never been one to push the vaccine even tho I got vaxxed as soon as I could & have some boosters. If people don't want a vaccine, fine (too bad they could never be quiet about that). But I've always been astonished at the # of people who are spittle-flecked in their insistence that the Covid vaccine is so very, very dangerous while also completely ignoring (& completely dismissing) the fact that the Covid virus itself is *completely unknown* in terms of it's long term impacts. Side note: much more is known now of it's intermidiate risks, and, golly gee, C19 isn't very benign at all to a large # of people. And who knows what will be discovered over the coming years?
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After my rant above, I wanted to say that I do support AirBnBs run by small farmers (who increasingly seem to offer them). I'll also seek out listings in more rural areas, if I can find one that has hosts on site, such as a family renting out part of their own house or property. I also know, tho, that those are increasingly hard to find. I looked this fall for listings to stay on Cape Cod this coming summer. I found *one* that looked to be an individual house with an individual owner (meaning not an individual with a chain of properties). All else was a chain of some sort. Said "screw it" & booked a hotel. With more flexible cancellation (& other) policies & slightly less in cost.
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Anyone else remember how AirBnB started? It was about all regular joes (& janes) standing up to the big hotel chains. Fellow Americans opening extra rooms in their homes and charging truly affordable rates for travelers while earning a little extra income, with the sidekick of unique & interesting experiences & introductions. Fast forward x number of years later....now it's largely a huge *&^%ing joke. It's contributing to the housing shortage, esp in desirable areas, (double esp in desirable vacation areas). Hotel chains, businesses, & rich individuals now own up to dozens of properties each. Rentals often cost more than a hotel (by the time you add in all the extra fees), plus you're expected to clean the whole damn place, take out the garbage, run (& empty) the dishwasher, & strip all the beds. And your personal experience is about as charming and interesting as 2-day-old french fry from MacDonalds. I'll occasionally still check AirBnB listings, but if I'm gonna be depersonalized by a corporate overlord, at least I won't have to pretend otherwise if I stay at a hotel. Or clean my room.
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S/O parenting these kids (or “kids”) these days
Happy2BaMom replied to Carrie12345's topic in The Chat Board
I agree, *especially* given the condition a not-insignificant percentage of houses are in (or will be in in a certain # of years) in many/most places of the US. Dh & I just spent ungodly amounts of money basically rebuilding (not that we planned on that) our 100-yo farmhouse. Many houses in my area are old(er) and need that kind of input at this point. OTOH, when we were renting near Columbus, OH not that long ago (during a 2-yr stay for DH's job), we lived in a lovely-looking suburban home that was built in the mid-90s. It was a tract home. While it looked nice, it was cheaply built and it would not be a house I would want to own, particularly if I had to pay a steep(er) price for it and was planning to stay in it. It will also need major financial input to keep it truly livable over the long haul. Dh & I have talked many times about what a financial mess a young couple could be in if they had purchased either house, or the many, many, many others like them. (side note: not that renting is that great...I totally get the desire to have some financial security. Unfortunately, the older generations have pushed seemingly an unfair amount onto the younger ones in terms of financial upkeep on houses, systems, etc). -
She didn't mention Fauci, and she doesn't live in the US, so why are you bringing him up? And other countries didn't follow Fauci (Covid-19 was a *worldwide* pandemic, other countries have their own public health systems and leaders, and the rest of the world is not as obsessed with the US as much as the US likes to think they are), so, yes, by definition, he had limited power & influence. Re: the Twitter Files....that would be your opinion. There was a lot of nuance and context in those Files that were conveniently overlooked by those eager for confirmation bias.
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And many, many people are able to look at certain pictures and not have it progress from there. What's ridiculous is expecting everyone else to adapt to a certain few's inability to control themselves. (ETA: the # of people claiming to have developed a problem with pornography after viewing the book in question is an exact set of "1", so clearly the problem is HER.)
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Another homeschooling article, this one about severe abuse
Happy2BaMom replied to Innisfree's topic in The Chat Board
Yes, public money with zero accountability is never a good idea. -
Another homeschooling article, this one about severe abuse
Happy2BaMom replied to Innisfree's topic in The Chat Board
So for those who don't believe that any additional government oversight is necessary (& I'm not saying it is)...what are the potential solutions to these situations (which do routinely crop up)? Or do we just do nothing?