Spyke

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world

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Exclusive: Pentagon ramps up planning for possible military ops in Cuba

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Is this even a real question? Because it seems genuine, I will treat it as such.

Instead of hand wringing and making abstract statements, you can answer your own question by explaining what this process looks like on the individual level:

Start with you. You say we have the right to guns AND aren’t you all armed up the wazoo. Assuming this means that you aren’t armed or trained. So you have to become armed and get trained to be effective in the manner you are describing. Then you have to get organized to be effective. That involves time, opportunity cost, and risk.

Move to others. This same process has to happen across a critical mass of individuals. We can barely get unions organized in the USA. That’s trying to get people to rally behind their own economic interests. It’s an order of magnitude more difficult to get people to organize for something less tangible.

Realize it’s by design. The system (capitalism) is designed to keep us all running on the hamster wheel so we cannot take the steps necessary to become individually valuable to an organized movement. In contrast, it creates paid professional positions (the police/military) to enforce the rules of that system. Currently, those that run the system are (hopefully) reaching the threshold of what the cogs will tolerate.

Call it hypnotism if you want. The truth is that the majority of the working class is still subjected to the same top down rule that that we always have been under whatever form of hierarchical rule has been the flavor of the day. I attribute the general shock that many are expressing for the current moment to recently realizing that we are all still stuck in Plato’s Cave.

What to do. Understand where you are in the arch of history. Keep pushing in the direction you want things to go. Keep passing knowledge and training on. Keep maintaining social connections with like minded individuals. Do all this so that those who are in the right place, at the right time, can do the right thing.

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The Quiet Rise of Men Saying No to Marriage - Men's Journal

The study surmised that autonomy, personal values, and the desire for freedom are some of the strongest predictors of a satisfying single life.

My take as a dad… prior to kids and marriage I had time to pursue hobbies and interests outside of work. Now, as the revenue generating cog the family machine, my time is extremely limited. Combine that with the fact that over the last 100 years the cost of living has risen faster than the average wage. This means the money maker in the family system barely has time for family interaction, not to mention personal time.

Under those conditions, to enjoy being a dad means you have to put your children’s happiness above your own all the time. If a person prioritizes “autonomy, personal values, and the desire for freedom” it’s going to be a bad fit.

I think this is what my own narcissist father meant when he told his three children “you weren’t worth it.”

As for the impending demographic problem… "Life, uh, finds a way.”

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Fetus yeetus

A police officer testified Tuesday that Tony Moreno said he needed to kill his infant son, Aaden, so the child would not be raised by his ex-girlfriend’s family. . . “I asked him directly if he had dropped Aaden from the bridge,” Semper said during his testimony. “He nodded yes.” Semper said he asked Moreno if he threw Aaden like a half-court shot, three-point distance, free throw or layup. “He said free-throw distance. He said ‘free throw,'” Semper said.

Moreno Said He ‘Needed’ To Kill Infant Son – Hartford Courant

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My first Friday

I’ll be 11 years sober this year. It gets much easier. You’re breaking a habit. Your mind will rationalize and justify just about anything to get a fix (nicotine, sugar, alcohol, etc). Hell, I have quit smoking and drinking and I still struggle with late night snacking.

But over time you get stronger. In the early days it pays to go to support groups/ get a mentor. Changing your lifestyle will require you do more than just stop drinking. You may have to adjust how you socialize and destress as well.

If you stumble, be kind but firm with yourself. Learn from the mistake, adjust, and try again.

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Reality check

It’s only “down the drain” if you don’t learn from what caused you to stumble. Sobriety is a lifelong journey. From those posts to today you wandered a bit, but now appear to be back on the path to sobriety.

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If you could take back one thing you've said, what would that be?

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Isn’t it? I heard this quote as a child (middle school) when listening to this book on tape during school commutes.

I suppose it is seared into my mind because hearing it was akin to watching a movie with your parents and there is an unexpected sex scene.

Quote feels out of context with the rest of the book, which tried to paint a picture of America during the time the author worked on the show “On The Road”