Wait, I distinctly recall going on a mission while in Vermont to get the good stuff.... So now, Canada?!?

Aww

Funny that we have that in common, no problem communicating or being out-going, but default to quiet environments (home) by preference, preferably together.

I've only met one, she's sitting across from me right now.

I've only met one, she's sitting across from me right now.

NO!!

Slim....

Cheap labor isn't rare.

Thinking, No, I didn't fly 7,000 miles to Kazakhstan for the tourist sites, honey.

Happy birthday Merry.

I'm here for the hors d'oeuvres, and if I'm being honest, the service ain't that great.

Condolences Larsi, keep with the forum, you brighten this place.

Elon Musk just announced Tesla's eliminating the need for rare Earth elements, and many have discounted the announcement as hype to boost Tesla stock.

It isn't - A new breakthrough allows cheaper fabrication of a long known iron alloy, iron nitride, that yields a magnet more than 2X the strength of neodymium at half the cost and that cost will go down once fabrication is streamlined.

China has the global monopoly on rare Earth's and has been saber-rattling with Japan and Taiwan over territorial rights where major sea deposits lie.

Neodymium accounts for over 90% of global rare Earth demands, but iron nitride will also replace other rare Earth's.

American ingenuity is still alive and well.

China can stick to making trinkets for now.


Great video on the topic, I'm a big "Two Bit Davinci" fan, Ricky Roy's great - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xInA76a1eVs

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Hot

Finding a show/movie both Bonnie and I like, that we talk about for weeks, months after.

Median wage is $54K/yr, the average person works 45 years = $2.4 mil.

Even on a flat monetary level, $5 million is insane.

The counter, there is absolutely no denying America did horrific things to African-Americans up to the mid 17th century and then continued to repress them after.

A more sensible approach might be free college for all descendants, along with shelter/food during college, maybe interest free home loans after college.

There is absolutely no denying the residual effects of descendants of slavery, but $5 million is just insane.

The better, more sensible approach is to pay to elevate those descendants to where they would be, had they migrated here like the rest of us.

Thinking I always get touch of melancholy when the plane departs and we can't text.

There's no debate that he'll be indicted, the charges, though, are relatively lesser compared to what's in the pipeline in Georgia and the DOJ.

Right now the republican GA senate is attempting to create a law that allows them to over-rule their own prosecutor so they can stop their own DA, similar to what's going on in Israel right now, but I highly doubt it'll get past SCOTUS, similar attempts have been shot down in the past by SCOTUS.

"We're all pretending we've got a lot to show for it, because admitting what a disaster it's been is too tough to digest," he wrote. "But come on. There really isn't an upside to Trump."

I'm absolutely fine with any potential conflicts being scrutinized, regardless of party, though in the case of Hunter, whatever they find on his laptop will have been attained illegally.

Hunter may well have a "Gawker V Hogan" situation on his hands, he could make a killing in lawsuits. Though I'd be curious if anything's found, sure.

That said, I stand by my point, we have a serious problem in America, money to politicians is bribery, not free speech, and at the very least we have the right to know who's bribing who.

Superpac secrecy is a serious problem, a serious security threat.

The biggest problem I have is the attempts to undermine Zelensky and US support for Ukraine at CPAC.

Superpacs are not required to disclose their donors, thanks to Citizens United.

The NRA was blatantly caught accepting Russian money, then Giullinan associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman were both prosecuted for the same thing, several GOP superpacs and politicians were forced to return that money.

Then the FBI's McGonigal was busted working for Putin just weeks ago.

These are only what we know of, despite Superpac's not having to disclose their donors.

I am NOT looking to target the GOP, but to say that we already know they have made payments to political interests here to sway US foreign policy.

There are more examples of Russian money being funneled into the U.S. and until we do something about Superpac's allowances for secrecy, there's no reason to not invoke critical thinking any time a US politician openly favors a foreign adversary.

It has to stop, and for those who think I'm "attacking" the GOP, imagine what happens when China starts funneling money into Superpacs.

What about Chinese, Iranian or North Korean governments, or the Islamic State?

What would we do if, out of the blue, members of Congress started promoting Sharia law?

I honestly believe that current members of Congress are doing Putin's bidding, and if it's not dealt with it WILL get a lot worse, and it won't just be Putin either.

Psyched, gonna be with my love in a few weeks