lsaclassof2000.bsky.social
MGoBlog moderator, Michigan alumnus, gigantic nerd. In search of a kinder world. Opinions are my own and not reflective of any professional associations, if you will. Any resemblance between me and anyone, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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I mentioned to my wife that the average commercial aircraft, like Air Force 1, in the US is close to 30 years old - older, in the case of a 747 like that.
Older planes are difficult and expensive to service, and if we're not going to spend the money, well....who knows...
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Trump's father is not fondly remembered in New York City, and there are connections between his father and KKK activity in the state of New York in the 30s and 40s.
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If only his grandfather had been at the Somme or Verdun....and foolishly looked above the sightline of the trenches for one brief moment....
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My wife once said, "Some people stay married to have their name in the papers on occasion and that's it. Melania is such a person."
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I remember that. LOL.
(Trump's grandfather apparently made it to North America only to escape compulsory military service in Bavaria. Traditionally, in the old German Empire, evasion of this responsibility meant you were more or less made a non-person if not exiled outright.)
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My dad used to say that there are too many people who will only be remembered for their net worth because they were such bastards otherwise.
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I keep thinking, "Having been there when Henry Hudson almost wrecked the damn ship in what is now the East River in NYC had to be fascinating...."
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Oh, American politics went WAY off course almost immediately after that ruling from the Supreme Court. The so-called "dark money" was just waiting for that day.
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Term limits on Congress would be welcomed by many.
(Although, as old as many of them are, the ultimate term limit is about to be reached by more than a few.)
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Before they removed all the restrictions on donation amounts and campaign funding about 15 years ago at the federal level, a small-scale homegrown campaign was not only possible, it was common in some places. Now.....almost none are like that.
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Right down to the local level, that attitude in politics is sadly a raging epidemic here.
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The pension by itself, no. 80% of the max salary, which is $174,000 USD. Like a typical upper management pension. A lot of people in Congress are independently wealthy, so they are well-insulated from everyday concerns. They are beholden to their donors for millions, so they answer to them instead.
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Yeah, until about 15 years ago, there were federal caps on donation amounts, both from private persons and organizations. It was about $20,000. You could run a small-donor homegrown campaign. With all the caps gone, millions upon millions get poured into competitive races and everyday people lose
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I've worked for a couple people just like that over the years. You sit at your own desk thinking, "What the hell are they doing here anyway?"
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Oh, right down to the local level, we have people who make a career of it and end up being completely ineffective but....still there.
We need more like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez here, who see this as an opportunity and a calling, not people who see this as a side hustle to their country club duties
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This is what happens when some among us are descended from people so Protestant that Europe's Protestants didn't want them anywhere near the general populace.
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Obviously, there are some in Congress who have always wanted to saw the entire social safety net off the nation, such as it exists here (a shadow of what it is, say, in Canada). Others are well aware that 1/4 or more of their constituents need help, but.....their spines are nowhere to be seen.
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Also, right now, a lot of them - especially in the GOP - are scared out of their wits of MAGA enthusiasts, if you will. Considering that their most effective owns are self-owns, I am not sure why, but they are. Social psychologists could write entire tomes on these dynamics.
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I think the federal pension for someone in Congress is 80% of max salary, which is $174,000 USD. However, a lot of them are independently wealthy and that's a drop in the bucket, and that is part of the reason they don't listen - they don't understand (some don't care) how real this shit is to most.
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My father was a Brit. Dry wit and sarcasm were survival skills in my house. They still are.
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"What do you think of when you see this shirt?"
"Oh, retinal myopathy doesn't sound that bad, come to think of it...."
I can see it now.
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At least one person would walk up and ask them why they were wearing a Rorschach Test
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Exactly.