“mass shooting” usually means one shooter and multiple people hit. So a drunk, mad guy at a party who pulls out a gun and shoots 3 people will count towards the number but probably not make it past local news. Not every mass shooting is a school shooting or terrorist attack, but those get the most attention.

In their minds, this is loving your enemy. Because Christians are right and everyone else is wrong. So forcing your beliefs on people is a good thing because you’re saving their souls.

Keep working, drinking, and sleeping. Not much else to do no matter who wins.

You’re giving these guys too much credit. They don’t follow the news or read anything, ever. This is the same coworker who, when a hasidic Jewish person walked into our shop, said “I thought Amish couldn’t work with electricity” and was 100% genuine.

Tbf my way of thinking is probably based off my environment. I live in a liberal area but work in a conservative work environment, so all the conservatives I know don’t have Trump flags, stickers, spout antivax shit, etc. but all the liberals I know feel more empowered.

But as far as the political parties themselves go, I agree. Neither side is doing anything to address the class divide, which would help nearly everyone.

I mean, this made up person definitely sounds difficult to deal with. But this is getting into qanon territory basically, and I don’t think the vast majority of conservatives are like that. Plus I believe you can have open discussions and say “I disagree with that entirely” without adding “and you’re a bigot” at the end. It’s also easier in real life to tell if someone is genuinely hateful or their heart is in the right place but they’re a bit of a moron.

My whole gripe with overly-progressives is that they’ll completely write someone off as evil for not being progressive enough. It seems you’re assuming I’d never speak up against genuine racism, when originally my point was "it’s annoying when people tell you saying ‘marijuana’ or ‘mailman’ is racist and transphobic.

Depends on context. If someone is saying “wow I hate all gays and hope they’re put in extermination camps” then sure I’d speak up and tell them they’re a piece of shit. If someone says “I think gays should have equal rights but personally I think it’s wrong” then I’d shrug it off. I think there’s a line between outright hatred and ignorance/cultural/religious-norms that people ignore too much. Qanon type people are too far gone, but the others I think could change, and immediately shutting them down as racists or homophobes doesn’t help sway them.

For me at least, it’s more of “conservatives are crazy, conspiracy-led, bigots but liberals are annoying.” and this of course only applies to the most outspoken of both sides.

I know plenty of people who vote republican, that are decent people (not antivax, not racist, not homophobic), but are either religious or gun nuts. Hell, I have a coworker that agrees with 95% of democratic policies but will never vote for them because they’ll “take his guns.” Do I think they’re dumb, sure. Do I think they’re evil, no?

Liberals I see like vegans. The core messaging is right, but the preachier you get, the more people are going to dislike you, even if they agree with you on principle. Even though I’ve voted democrat in every election, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes when someone told me I should stop using the word “marijuana” because it’s racist.

I don’t really want to hang out with qanon, racist types or people where I have to be careful of saying “mailman” instead of “mail carrier”. Obviously if I had to choose, it’d be the latter, but I don’t have to choose because 80% of people aren’t that politically motivated every second of their day.

Church Street Blues by Tony Rice

Same, actually. He’s the only office I’ve gotten a response from that shows my letter was actually read. Everyone else just sends the generic canned reply back.

A like a mug of broth. But there is a TON of sodium so that’s a once in a blue moon drink.

Plus Japanese 7-11 is considered decent food. Compare to 7-11 here where any food is a combination of salt, more salt, and sugar, with maybe some protein or carbs. I imagine this quality difference expands to other establishments as well.

They’re not straight country. More Americana/roots. There’s a Canadian fellow called Daniel Romano who made some really good straight country, but sadly only a couple albums then went to other genres. His album Come Cry With Me is the closest I’ve found to that 60s/70s sound and lyricism.

And probably still a lot more I haven’t found yet.

Today’s POPULAR country is that way. There are still great country artists, they just don’t get as big. Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, Charlie Crockett, Margo Price, Sarah Jarosz

It’s warm to around 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Really good at blocking wind but it’s thin so it doesn’t conserve body heat below a pretty cool temperature. It’s definitely meant to be worn with base layers if getting close to freezing

Patagonia torrentshell. But I’d wager any similar product from a good brand works just as well.

That’s why I don’t go out in a downpour. The coat goes about mid-thigh so my calves get a bit wet. But since my legs are mostly verticle and I’m fat, they don’t get very wet at all.

A very nice rain coat. Now unless it’s a downpour, I still walk places instead of driving if it’s raining. And I stay bone dry.

I hope it keeps going. America is fucked when it comes to worker’s rights. We need a huge push from the majority of the working population and maybe we’ll get to 20% of the protections/benefits most western European countries have.

And perhaps some kind of alarm to alert when a sexual person is in the repair area.