DonkeyCigars

But, why? 1) Why would you want to be a member of an organization with fundamental disagreements (especially when other organizations in the same vertical exist that would satisfy your needs)? 2) Why would it be news when said organization reprimands a member who is openly/knowingly flouting, in a highly visible and arguably influential way, a significant decree (and major differentiator, as alluded to above) of the organization's charter/mission/values? Bonus Question: 3) Why should anyone here care about any of this, unless it's to find a cheap way to bring up and make fun of Catholics (I'm not Catholic or Pro-Catholic, so definitely not defending them here and think a lot of the hate they get is justified and/or funny)?

I mean, I don’t know how it works because I’m not nor would I desire to be Catholic. It’s just weird how, of all the religions and indoctrinations to choose from, you are a staid member of one in which you are completely at odds and in conflict with a pretty big, or at least highly visible, tenet, that being abortion is murder. Seems like you could find any number of churches or organizations, outside of Catholicism, to fit your specific views and still check the most important of the holy trinity and Jesus, etc. Maybe just goes to show you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, or the inertia of tradition and how you were raised is too strong for some folks.

I feel like Catholic Bishops or the Catholicism machine or whatever the heck the trillion dollar business in Vatican City is these days-- I feel like them voting to deny Biden or distance themselves and their organization with Biden shouldn't be surprising. He's pretty antithetical to their stated and recorded core beliefs, probably in many ways, but obviously in his pro-choice abortion stance. Why is this news or does anyone care or is this just an excuse to bring up and make fun of Catholics? Surely people aren't expecting the organization to conform to Biden the individual or to make exceptions because he is another in the long list of forgettable middle-of-the-road leaders who will erode with the sands of time compared to the civilization staple that seems to be the Catholic monstrosity, destined to exist until people or time itself end, whichever comes first. If anything, Biden should have came out as a lapsed or former Catholic a long time ago unless he was just waiting and hoping not to get called to the carpet for not marching to the beat of the drum.

He was bad on meth right? Man, what an insane human being. Sad, really.

That's hilarious!

That's some grassroots/populism movement gaining traction and that is whiter than mayonnaise. It's like the counterbalance to the BLM summer '20. Ebbs and flows, I guess, the pendulum swings and the bell tolls for thee.

You are actually wrong. It's dammit.

I think legal marijuana is probably one of the few true bipartisan/universally agreed upon things these days, so I agree.

If that is the case, then the only rational and reciprocal warfare is to weaponize and mobilize the crazy left in the same way. Fight fire with fire. Just like with the economic middle class, we are marching towards a world where there are the crazies on the left and the crazies on the right and a squeezed centrist party. Call it the Gen X of politics, I guess.

I think they exist in large number, they've likely just temporarily defected to centrism/democrats (or permanently if there isn't a regression to the mean and the rolling 200 average has changed). Only time will tell. 2020 was a referendum on Trump and alt-right I think there is not question about that. I think a lot of folks banded together against a common enemy, but the sub-issues and micro-issues are so disparate that there is no large common agenda/objective. Regardless, I feel like Democrats must use these 4 years to get some wins and show value and getting sucked into a bunch of time wasting traps and getting wrapped around axles like fighting the battle of CRT and what it really means academically versus what the evolution/popular idea of the term as a catchall means, is the GOP successfully distracting and acting as a pest to force errors.

I 100% believe he doesn't drink. He's just that weird.

Ha Sarcasm noted. But I'm really not sure what is stopping the Democrats from going full on "ludicrous mode" with their messaging and brand and whipping their people up in a frenzy for the offensive like the Republicans have done. I feel like in 2021 there are 4 parties shoe-horned into 2: 1) Progressives/Extreme Left 2) GQP/Alt-right 3) Staid, milquetoast liberal Democrats 4) Staid, milquetoast conservative Republicans

I'm going to be watching from a curiosity perspective-- I was reading that with the ranked choice modality, there is a path to win just by being the most #2 candidate-- you don't even have to be a majority's favorite. Seems like a great path for the "always the bridemaid, never the bride" type personality/politician.

Just my opinion here which I'm sure is as unpopular as it is true: Democrats need to figure out whichever firm or mastermind is think-tanking for the GQP because I've never seen or heard of a PR firm that can so consistently a) quell, dispel and make disappear disasters and b) create awareness and brands and go-to-market/public talking points that are stickier than gorilla glue. It's an advertising masterclass really with deep dives into advertising and psychology and the intersectionality of propaganda. And it's always either attacking a current democrat political point or it's getting ahead of the democrat political angle/position and snuffing it out before it gains traction. The best Democrats have been able to do to advance their positions is to pretend that "getting back to normalcy / so glad politics is boring again / Biden is awesome so I can ignore policy again" is a win as they continue to eat their own while bogeyman's die on the vine (e.g. Defund the Police, as an example of horrible sloganeering that divided even Democrats, BLM which is divisive due to a lot of the reasons CRT is, etc.)

I thought Bend was the city that had the whole hang-up on being nice. It's their touristy cultural schtick.

I don't understand how he didn't get 100% universal appreciation and love for this: Let's talk white women—you're amazing. Amazing, your accomplishments over the last few years. I gotta tell you, the way white women somehow hijacked the woke movement, generals around the world should be analyzing this. Just to refresh your memory: The woke movement was supposed to be about people of color—not getting opportunities, the at-bats that they deserve—finally making that happen. And it was about that, for about eight seconds. And then somehow, white women swung their Gucci-booted feet over the fence of oppression and stuck themselves at the front of the line. I don't know how they did it. I've never heard so much complaining in my life from white women. "I'm hurt, with my SUV and my heated seats. You have no idea what it's like to be me." Trashing white guys. The nerve. Where's the camera? The nerve of you white women. Listen, I don't want to speak ill of my b***hes here, OK? I don't. But let's go back in history here, OK? You guys stood by us toxic white males through centuries of our crimes against humanity. You rolled around in the blood money. And, occasionally, when you wanted to sneak off and hook up with a Black dude, if you got caught, you said it wasn't consensual. Yeah, that's what you did! That's what you did! So why don't you shut up, sit down next to me and take your talking-to?

yea, with toddlers/infants, and strollers and crap of everyone else, there is too much stuff. Also, my understanding was the roof storage was what we were trying to avoid.

Yea it’s about as honest of an origin story as I have found— and it further supports my hypothesis that this is a smart play if the interest is in maintaining status quo. That said it’s also interesting because, as often happens, original definitions morph and evolve overtime through overuse or misuse. I think we are seeing that here with CRT being something that will effectively be an umbrella term for “anti-white racism teaching and pro-status quo” versus the original, rather narrow academic framework definition (much to the chagrin of people like Pancho). It’s like how “woke” started as a good term and became a parody/insult, over time.

Interesting and fair/balanced article about CRT and it's origins as a political football and how the term/idea has morphed and is being applied and known. https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/how-a-conservative-activist-invented-the-conflict-over-critical-race-theory

Zero chance the Tahoe will work. You need the Yukon XL or ESV or Suburban sized SUV's. We went to Destin in the Tahoe with only 2 kids and the luggage/bags barely fit. We looked at Minivans and even the cargo space in a minivan is very small when all seats are in use. Like everyone else in the 90's/00's I made fun of the Excursion or whatever that huge SUV was called, but man, I get it now.

Just from a cursory glance (reading a few "notable alumni wikipages" of divine 9), if you are a black college student with aspirations to be a player in the American economy-- seems like being in a black fraternity is a pre-req. I think being in a fraternity might have been like that for white people once upon a time, whereas now it's more of a social/lifestyle choice versus a power incubator. Also a distinction I see is sorority girls usually stay close to a handful of close friends but participation dies off almost immediately after graduation. In fact, by the time you are a senior, few people care to whoop it up with a bunch of 18-20 year olds at the house anyways and you've kind of began transitioning to thinking about life post-college. That's why junior leagues in the big city are such a thing. It's like sorority 2.0. but sounds like the black sororities maintain their bonds/relationships longer.

I think I agree with you. I also think he thinks he got an Epic W. He got almost $100k more than what he thought was possible, etc. He just is ignorant to what the top could have really potentially been, maybe. I guess if you want to move fast-- FSBO in a hot market will get you there the fastest and net you the most money in relation to speed. If you want to work the process and maximize every last dime, pay a professional.

Had the '20 Tahoe. With 3 or more kids it's not possible. The cargo space is poo poo when you have the 3rd row up and in use, a city jogger stroller and 1 bag of groceries maybe can fit. Had to go with the '21 Escalade ESV which was a large amount of money but that size was honestly necessary, but with the new body style/trim, I think I can get my value out of it and be in the black if I keep it for a decade.

1000%

Anecdote (your mileage may vary): A friend of mine sold one of his rental houses for $602k. He paid $500 or so to direct list it so it hit the MLS. I had another friend sell a duplex for $1mm that he listed on Facebook marketplace and didn't even have to pay that $500 so that's an option too. He offered 3.5% to the buyer agent because when they'd call he told them right off the jump: a) cash is preferred then conventional, nothing else will be entertained and b) you will be doing more little more work than usual because he doesn't have an RE. He took pictures with my iPhone and scheduled/was home for 2 showings, a grand total of 2 hours of time. He saved $15k. Out mutual buddy who is a Realtor actually agreed when he told us this. Just concurred that this market is too dang hot to fool around with a sellers agent. Anyone can look at comps that have sold, you then take your dream price you want to get for your house and you tack on 15-20%. Staging/photos/marketing-- all hogwash in this market. Which brings me to my next point: I have another buddy I work with who has two DFW rental properties that are a couple of years old. One of the tenants was up and moved on, which he preferred because he was only getting $1900 from. He thought it was a good time to re-list, he listed for $2200 on Zillow. He got 30 calls in 30 minutes-- many offering "I'll pay $2500, etc.". There are just no rentals in the exurbs past Frisco (this is like Celina and Melissa and Anna, even). Smoke 'em if you got 'em.