Obituary: Okefenokee Joe: Massive alligator that died is estimated to have been around since WWII. Thanks Neutronbeam.
Silent Round-up
Thanks Ant and Neutronbeam.Brunch Links
- 9/11 Ceremonies Commemorate 20 Years Since The Attacks.
- Sacred Ground- A 9/11 Story. Thanks RedEye9.
- How Hollywood Sold Out to China.
Stories
Thanks RedEye9.
- Ticket agent who helped Sept. 11 hijackers make flight finds forgiveness.
- Taco Bell Wants To Recycle Old Sauce Packets.
- Why potato milk, a newcomer to plant-based dairy, may be the most sustainable option. I didn't even know spuds had breasts! Thanks Max.
Science
- Science Says the Fatty Acids in Omega-3 Supplements Can Stabilize Alzheimer's Patients' Memories. Thanks Max.
Image
Media
- Planting Trees to Grow Forests - Eden Reforestation Projects.
- Mom catches book falling on child using reflection from TV.
- Gator chases fisherman. Nature don't play.
Follow-up
bigspender wrote on Sep 12, 2021, 06:12:Yes, I was also going to point out that reducing US defense spending means ceding vast swaths of the Earth to authoritarian regimes like China and Russia, but I'd opened a couple of cans of worms already. We don't live in 1910 any longer. Isolationism hasn't been possible for 100 years. The US mis-uses its military often, but even with those mistakes, having US be the top super power is far preferable to having China and Russia feel free to bully and annex their neighbors more than they already do. China is already trying to claim the entire South China Sea in violation of the UNCLOS treaty it signed a couple of decades ago. Imagine what would happen if the US retired all of its carriers.jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.
First we need better enforcement.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans dodge $163 billion in taxes every year, Treasury says
And we need a lot more corporate taxes.
As a share of GDP, the US has the lowest corporate taxes of the G7 nations.
Exactly!
The real problem is that other countries who have malicious intent or are made up of citizens who are mostly bad actors or religious fantatics and so on, keep spending money on their forces. We live in a world were countries are annexed, or taken over by force as we've seen very recently. Why aren't the lefties ever mentioning the you know, the actual bad guys, yes they exist, even if you are nice to them... Oh I know why lefties talk BS against their own countries, because these are the only places that have freedom of speech.
jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 21:10:Burrito of Peace wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 20:44:You bring up another problem with US defense acquisitions: for political reasons production of any particular system is spread across multiple states, requiring all those parts to be relocated to a central location for assembly. This dramatically increases the cost. Take the F-35: it creates jobs in 45 different states. This is done intentionally to insulate a particular program from cancellation. No senator or rep wants to vote against job creation. Given how few defense contractors there are today due to mergers, it's time to create some regulation to counteract these practices.jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.
I'd argue that it is both and corporations/wealthy people buying the government. We spend a grotesquely obscene amount on military spending, we fail to tax appropriately, and we fail to prevent corporatebribesdonations. Run elections for all public offices on public funds, including advertising.
jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.
First we need better enforcement.
The wealthiest 1% of Americans dodge $163 billion in taxes every year, Treasury says
And we need a lot more corporate taxes.
As a share of GDP, the US has the lowest corporate taxes of the G7 nations.
Why potato milk, a newcomer to plant-based dairy, may be the most sustainable option. I didn't even know spuds had breasts! Thanks Max.
1badmf wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 20:53:
biden is trying to increase funding for the IRS to audit the wealthy, and shocker, the repubs are against it cuz they 'don't trust the IRS'.
Burrito of Peace wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 20:44:You bring up another problem with US defense acquisitions: for political reasons production of any particular system is spread across multiple states, requiring all those parts to be relocated to a central location for assembly. This dramatically increases the cost. Take the F-35: it creates jobs in 45 different states. This is done intentionally to insulate a particular program from cancellation. No senator or rep wants to vote against job creation. Given how few defense contractors there are today due to mergers, it's time to create some regulation to counteract these practices.jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.
I'd argue that it is both and corporations/wealthy people buying the government. We spend a grotesquely obscene amount on military spending, we fail to tax appropriately, and we fail to prevent corporatebribesdonations. Run elections for all public offices on public funds, including advertising.
jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.
FloodAnxiety wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 16:31:
Science says studies based on a dataset of 33 people is not statistically significant, and thus is not actually science. I'd be in favor not never seeing a fake science article on yahoo linked here again. Just my two cents.
Cutter wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 15:50:
Anyone else catch Kate on Netflix yet? I did last night and thought it was quite good. Tight, good pacing, good action sequences. MEW was way better than I thought she'd be. Right on par with Atomic Blonde and Le Femme Nikita for female lead action flicks.
jdreyer wrote on Sep 11, 2021, 14:03:
The problem isn't that we spend too much on defense. Currently we spend less than half of what we did as a % of GDP than we did during the Cold War. Rather, the problem is taxation.