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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 2nd, 2023

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  • In Catholic school in the nineties and early 2000’s, we were all told that the sex abuse scandal was serious but that it was also “a small number of incidents.” That we needed to pray for the victims and the souls of the perpetrators.

    Then I went to college. Come to find out not only was the child rape widespread, not only did the church actively hide monsters from legal scrutiny, not only was this all directly effecting the local arch diocese (not my school specifically, but church leaders were forced to quickly rename another high school when allegations against a dead bishop proved too numerous to ignore)… not only all that but that it’s still going on, just not in first world countries with robust networks of journalists and legal systems. That an alleged pedophile was (while I was in college) living in the Vatican, being directly sheltered from extradition by South American authorities.

    I guess the lie was that it was all over. That it was a small problem. That the church was a safe place people could turn to. I left the church at 18 over it, became an atheist by 19, and that’s where I’m at now at 35.




  • Well, I never thought it was weird until now. My polling place is the local Jewish community center (I’m not Jewish). It’s not a synagogue or temple or anything, just like a big rec space with classrooms, a daycare, and admin offices. They have a summer camp every year and a food festival in the fall. It’s super convenient being like three blocks from my house. When I lived in a different part of town, I voted at an old folks home that I think was run by a church, but I’m not sure. There’s a public elementary school right down the street, but it’s much smaller than the community center with a lot less parking.



  • If a Democrat wins a statewide election in Texas that would send shockwaves through the American political norms. It’d be the Georgia 2020 Senate elections and runoffs but on steroids. Serious Republicans know that when (not if) Texas becomes a presidential election swing state it’s just about over. The Democrats could ignore Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida to focus solely on winning Texas… meanwhile a cash strapped GOP would have to fight in Texas while also spending money in all those other swing states. They haven’t had to really fight for Texas since like 1980, they might not even have the ground game infrastructure to pull it out of a tail spin if Texas goes purple. The Republican party would still be around in the Senate, House, and governor’s mansions, but hope for a Republican president would be over for like a decade at least… if the party doesn’t crumble from such an event, with donors fleeing to found new parties.









  • Kind of a “duh” thing but, only buy used cars.

    Always have a trusted mechanic who doesn’t work for the dealer look it over before you buy. Usually new car dealerships are reputable and are looking to move their trade-in inventory, especially at the end of the year when they need to clear the lot for the next year’s models. You can even find deals on vehicles that are only a year or two old like a returned lease, with a moderate number of miles on them and little to no wear and tear. Those are usually just as good as new but so much cheaper.

    Be super cautious of the used car dealer chains, like Drivetime and Carvana, they have loads of customer complaints and legal problems in a couple of states (basically, if it seems too good to be true, it is). Do not ever buy a former rental car, unless it’s true love at first sight or you’re desperate… even then think about how people, who’ve only paid like $10-20 for rental insurance, have probably treated that vehicle and reconsider.

    The newest and most expensive car I ever bought was a previous model year’s dealer demo. A dealer demo is what it sounds like, it’s the car the dealership displayed in the show room, used for test drives with unsure buyers, running office errands, and showing off at the mall or in parades. Cons: There’s only a few of them, they’ll have a couple hundred miles on the odometer, and you don’t get to pick the color or options. Pros: They’re usually at a decent trim level, in an agreeable color, and well maintained… for thousands less than brand new because they’ve already left the lot a whole bunch.