Have you shopped other companies for rates? I switched earlier this year and cut my insurance costs by more than half! Was fucking ridiculous how it just kept climbing.

I like your thought process and just want to wish you the best of luck!

I can identify with all of that. I’m seeing plenty of people and orgs so ready to “fight back” already, and I’m nowhere near ready for all that yet… this clusterfuck of nominations doesn’t help anything.

Just my 2 cents, but the logistics part is substantial. Our jails and prisons are already overflowing (with the highest incarceration rate of the global north) so there’s no quick process that is feasible. We should have plenty of warning as to what’s coming down the works… as for having the means and ability to do anything about it? We shall see.

You’re not helpless unless you don’t take action. Build your community and celebrate the small wins. Find meaningful work(even volunteering) and build more connections to others. Having some of that to fall back on has kept me saner lately, and now I’m driven to focus more on that, least for the short term.

Okay, I’ll bite and take a few minutes to refute yet another of your seemingly patently false statements that you provide no evidence for.

Are you talking about the expanded child tax credit that the senate didn’t pass(the house did)? If so, that’s not on the president.

I downvoted you at almost every opportunity bc it seems like you’re just talking out of your ass, which isn’t helpful. If I missed something that you’re referring to for poverty, feel free to share and support your argument.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-is-the-child-tax-credit-and-how-much-of-it-is-refundable/#how-did-congress-expand-the-child-tax-credit

There’s likely no 1 magic solution… it’ll take multiple fronts: education, community-building, better(less misinformation) social media…

Is there, though? I was trying to come up with some examples yesterday and all I can find from my admittedly lefty algo are fears propagated because of Trump’s words or incoming cabinet appointments. They are at least based on actual recorded words as opposed to cherry-picked data or “feels”. I guess the left could be cherry-picking data to support their arguments also, but the logic seems more sound, at least to me.

Appreciate the info!

If they don’t already exist, it sounds like a niche need for a third-party company that has some preset templates of different options? Add a lawyer and some legal aid and could be very helpful for the system.

Well the best 2 tours were the Golden Circle and the southern coast, where you visit a volcano, some geysers and waterfalls, and the black sands beach. Seeing the Northern Lights was amazing and the whale watching boat trip where we saw dolphins was another highlight. We’ve learned to schedule a guided food tour as our first excursion, as those guides are usually well-versed on the nuances of local spots/issues. We were blown away by how delicious all the food was there, except for the shark… it’s worth it for the experience, but hard for me to recommend as the taste is so powerful. The museums were well worth visiting!

Beautiful stuff, y’all. Keep hope alive!

I really enjoyed visiting there a few years ago and definitely want to go back! I’ve since paid more attention and at least from what I’ve seen, statehood seems like the best path forward. My wife and I also visited Iceland last year, but that island is in a completely different situation in multiple ways. Their geothermal power is awesome though. PR could certainly benefit from renewables but more local control and growth. You’re asking some good questions though.

Considering how under-funded and understaffed the IRS has been/is, they do a pretty amazing job with what they have to work with. Simplifying or redoing our tax codes again is a huge task that will take time. There does need to be some sort of progress though! We’ll see what type of government we’ll have shortly.

Idk… Iceland is doing pretty well with some large greenhouses. I was pretty amazed at the variety and quality of their fruits and veggies. That island has to deal with some serious issues but seem to be handling them quite well overall!

I’ve found multiple friendly employees at vape shops in both Arkansas and Oklahoma, especially in the college cities of course. But that might be a productive avenue that’s worth trying out.

Best of luck from an ally not too far away!

As a former recreational user of many substances(not LSD though), I understand your hesitancy. I had many great experiences on shrooms so I tend to recommend that before LSD. I just think it’s not as intense and has a lower probability of negative interactions or experiences, but that’s just based on what I’ve seen/heard/read. There are knock off versions of shrooms in vape shops but I have no idea what they are like.

That threw me for a loop as well. Finally figured out that they meant “exert”.

I hear you. And I agree, I would love more independently edited press out there. PBS and NPR seem under attack regularly by the right, but they do a pretty good job of being unbiased overall.

I could see the point being to spread the information on what is happening so that (hopefully) we could elect more people who would do something about it. There are some elections coming up where, theoretically, the power could shift. There’s also lobbying our congresspeople, which can have an effect if enough people do it. The power of incumbency, uninformed voters, etc… make this a shitty situation, to be sure. I’m still trying to have hope that enough people pushing for change can find success. If not, I’ll just be cynical at the bleak prospects of life.

I say all that to say, we should fight however we can, but definitely keep pushing forward!

Is it really those 6 billionaires opinions in every one of the stories their media presents every day? Seems like a stretch. I could see them imprinting their biases and blocking stories that they don’t want out, but colluding to control the narrative gives them too much credit I think. I’m lucky enough to have some decent independent journalism in my area, but I would love if there was more!