Fertility rates are falling, in most developed countries, Western Europe, North America, Korea, Japan, etc. it’s not quite “children of men” (great movie!) or “handmaids tail.” There ARE medical reasons- but nothing like infertility in that sense. 1. More people are living much longer, past the age they can or want to have kids or more kids.
2. Birth control is highly available and overall “better” than ever.
3. More families have both parents working- either from economic need, life goals, or both.
4. Women in general can have a lot more freedom in life to pursue their passions and desires outside of bearing and raising children.
5. Many individuals or countries are already seeing things as more crowded than they’d like and are just deciding not to put more people in the world.
Combine these things- you have a population that is expected to flatten out some. BUT- birth rates are still high in many less developed nations and are expected to stay high...

Lol. I’ll TRY to be succinct. Or... start succinct and go detailed later, and those who want the details can stick around.

So I personally don’t have a problem with us trying to make society more comfortable for everyone- but I would like to see us shift away from a popular trend where that means we have to “take down” any transgressors. Some folks- Harvey W. Comes to mind- are far beyond “ignorant” in their transgressions and do need to pay a price. But with things like “micro aversions” the person often genuinely doesn’t realize they are doing something wrong- and that is a chance to educate not destroy.

It is extra effort to do so yes- but it is also extra effort on the part of the person we are asking to change their behavior or be mindful of others to do so. We can’t expect to try and change the world we live in and not have to put any effort in ourselves- and if is much more effort to take the time and educate every person you meet who is ignorant of something- but just like digging the holes for fence posts- you’re trying to build something and every hole brings you closer, even if it is a pain in the ass and repetitive.

You can’t have the ambiguity and fluidity and highly contextual nature in law- people need to clearly understand what it is they can and cannot do and where or when. So instead of being punitive or passive aggressive- when we meet ignorance of social acceptability, we need to use that to kindly and directly teach a person.

Where this whole idea of “cancel culture” and social justice gets mixed up by most folks- is that ignorance by and of itself isn’t nor shouldn’t be a sin. The fact someone doesn’t “know better” usually means they were never taught better, or lack the experience to know better. I mean- that’s basically what laws are. Codified social etiquette to make sure people know what is and isn’t ok.

Lol. Yeah. Pretty much. I don’t necessarily think that one would get stifled just because they are “caught” in harassment- more so that many people lack the ability to articulate all or certain feelings or abstract concepts like humor. If we analyze the joke he made- and the most likely set ups for the joke- it probably ultimately isn’t “work place appropriate,” but....

I’m gonna more or less agree. Sometimes a joke is just a joke- just because it has sexual humor doesn’t mean it has sexual intent- but just because it doesn’t have sexual intent doesn’t mean someone can’t take it that way. I guess more or less like you said- we just should probably be careful what we say around people unless we know them and they know us well- for both their comfort as well as our own sakes.

There’s nothing wrong with that. Not everyone prioritizes achieving their maximum potential for performance in all they do. Being “the best” isn’t really needed for being happy. And that’s my main point. “Winning” in life is largely about how happy you are and the happiness you bring others. We don’t need to compare our lives to other people’s. If you’re happy with your job and your family and sucking at video games- be happy. Let someone else be happy for being good at games without dragging other stuff in to it.

You can try to chalk it up to having “better priorities” but- that doesn’t explain how someone can be great at something- or seemingly everything- and still manage a family and career does it? Not everyone is going to be that person- but most of the time when you try to say you have “better priorities” the truth is either the other person just has an easier times with things that are hard for you- so they can do better with less time and effort; or you have bad time management, or you’re just lazier.

So I mean... life is full of competition- but living isn’t a competition. If you’re happy then you’re happy. There isn’t a score board. So even if it wasn’t intentional to diminish others by saying this- one thing has nothing to do with the other. There are people out there who manage careers, families, competing in sports, and having leisure time as well as other responsibilities. It’s a sign of low self worth when you have to justify being beaten. They were better at that thing.

But here’s the real kicker-picture an Olympic athlete or a scientist at the top of their field. Those people would likely spend a lot of time practicing and training to be good right? But like.... if Micheal Phelps beat you in a swimming race you wouldn’t turn around and say: “yeah... but at least I have a job and a family.”

So I mean- watching politicians fumble words and concepts that weren’t covered in their “communications” “business” or law classes can be entertaining- but just to be clear, what comes out of their mouths isn’t necessarily a reflection of reality. Masks work. If they didn’t- those thin paper masks wouldn’t be worn by surgeons and doctors for almost a century. Before those, and in countries with less resources- cloth masks filled the role. Cloth masks are less effective in general- but still are better than nothing.

That said- masks aren’t a very effective self protection method, and can be between highly and barely effective at protecting others depending upon details. They are however much better in general than nothing. Pretty much every country that has gotten some measure of control over covid has used masks and isolation (isolation being FAR more effective than anything else we have that is achievable to the average person at scale.)

(For the record I didn’t DV you.) Perhaps I can help shed some light. “The government” by and large aren’t medical professionals or scientists. Out President has said on record that windmill noise causes cancer, and we have senators and others who have said things like they believe you can catch homosexuality. Given the benefit of the doubt for complete ignorance- even intelligent but non technical people don’t always nail the details or nuances.

I would agree- if you said: “I can give you a ride- I just have to run some errands...” and I personally think you should specify. Like- are we dropping a letter in the mail box or are we going to target across town to do returns, or.... at the very least one should say something like “I think it will take X minutes or so out of the way...”

But how does one reconcile that philosophy against conservation? If a rodent makes it to an island and as an invasive species begins to wipe out the local ecology- how do we deal with that? If the deer population needs culled- how do we deal with that? If you shoot a buck down- it’s already dead. Do you just let it rot? What of natural predators? Do we kill them before they can kill their prey? I mean- all things having value doesn’t imply there isn’t relativity. And if you believe that a human being attacked by a bear or another animal- the human should be saved even if the animal is killed- then you believe human life is more valuable.

Lol. That extra word makes a big difference. Thank you. (Not being sarcastic.)

The logic checks out to me- besides... 1911 and .45 are just right together. A solid classic. Hope you enjoy. The waiting sucks. And it’s worse than usual with everyone overloaded- even the DOJ is dragging ass on paperwork. Well- it’ll be worth the wait. Any good 1911 is gonna be pricey, but it sounds like you picked a quality piece. When o think of what the surplus ones used to go for and why I didn’t pick up a crate of them.... tears.

The prestige comes from the fact that these schools- you’ll be almost guaranteed to be meeting future presidents and leaders of business and politics. You get connected. You learn the secret handshakes and the proper manners and way to speak and act, the soft skills and you rub elbows with the elites. It all fits in together to form a package. You’re buying a very good chance at making it to the top- and with luxury goods, discounts usually hurt the brand. A $5,000 watch is still $5,000 quality (or whatever quality it was to start) but when it is $200 and anyone can get it- it’s not exclusive any more. And isn’t that part of the point? Not everyone gets to go to Harvard- if they did- it would be like any community college.

Plus we forget the major purpose of Ivy League schools. If is f about the quality of education- it’s about the quality of student. When you pay for a kid to go to these schools- you’re basically paying to make sure they meet the “right people.” Success is often more to do with your dorm mate or fraternity/sorority oaks etc than how well you are. Let’s face it- the world only has so many prodigies and if you’re rich, and your kid ain’t one of them- well... it’s better for financial success to be the guy who owns the company the top grad works at than be the smartest person in the room and the lowest paid.

Name and image go a long way, and part of image is cultivating an image. But there’s more too it as well. People don’t GIVE money in that magnitude. They are supporting something- and they expect to see certain things. Namely- a legacy. I personally think that it’s quite noble to have a wing of a community college named after you- but if you want prestige- you want a building at Harvard, not some rando school where you’ll just be a plaque most students don’t see or care about.

As far as humans go, simply being a known name and one not everyone can have-increases the value of a brand. Now, as endowments and such get passed around- lots of hands are out. Lots of deserving hands. But...While people were paying Micheal Jackson’s debt or forgiving it, how many people were in need of that, and for things perhaps more pressing than making their mansion payments or roller coaster upkeep bills, but didn’t get it? And why? Because they aren’t Micheal Jackson. An institution. Of all the talented and not so talented musical millionaires- how many better musicians never get to cut professionally backed albums?