http://t.co/rDhIcBXZJF

Now is the time that I wish I had thousands of followers, to work “practicing sociologist” into the discourse as a euphemism for “grifter,” and to make the gentleman below famous for coming up with it.

A bit of a big deal.

It looks like you’re close to Les Calanques.

To add to everyone else: the teams being chosen by region isn’t helping Italy. No one can say that Italy — or am I supposed to say Italia?! — is worse than Qatar or Iraq. Europe is tough. Of course, this still raises the question of why they’re not better in Europe.

This is so funny I almost spit my drink out! 😂🤣😂

archive.ph/dfs3n “St. John’s College Is Weird. Maybe Yours Should Be More Like It”

I realize that I’m a bit of a rube — even a yahoo, a cracker, a maroon, a knucklehead. Yet still, how does one spend decades on planet Earth and only now come across this, and then only because someone I follow on Twitter reposted it?

Why I'm against Prop Q: Austin’s priorities are drifting, and it’s harder than ever to cut through the noise and find the truth. What I’ve uncovered over the last few months is a city government that’s lost sight of its people. On the face of it, I see a manufactured crisis to justify policies that don’t serve us. To understand Austin’s financial reality, let’s start with some numbers. Over half of the city’s residents are renters, facing the highest average rents in Texas - over $1,400 for a one-bedroom apartment and $2,800 for a three-bedroom house. Most landlords aren’t corporate giants; they’re everyday people like us, individual investors who get no relief from property tax exemptions. Yet, the City Council seems to ignore both renters and small landlords. According to LendingTree, Austin is the most debt-ridden metro area in the U.S., with residents carrying an average of $48,000 in non-mortgage debt. We’re stretched thin, and we can’t afford a government that piles on more debt or raises taxes year after year. Then there’s the sales tax crisis. Since early 2023, our sales tax revenue has been cooling, while other major cities - and our own surrounding cities - have avoided this decline. This signals economic trouble localized to Austin and it affects our businesses. Yet instead of addressing our shrinking economy, the Council has doubled down on misguided priorities. Raising taxes, which reduces disposable income, which compounds this already troubling situation. For months, the City Council has been playing a strategic game, setting the stage for a tax rate election. It started with a May resolution tying tax increases to reductions in federal or state funding. Then they cut funding to essentials like first responders, libraries and parks, and gutted the housing trust fund to redirect rental assistance to temporary shelters. Now they tell us that we need to take care of each other. It feels nothing short of manipulative and dishonest. The city’s newest budget ignores glaring warning signs: declining sales tax revenue, skyrocketing rents, crushing personal debt and a dearth of disposable income. Instead of prioritizing critical services, the Council allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to consulting services and nonprofits with little transparency. This isn’t just poor governance. It’s a crisis designed to advance the Council’s agenda while neglecting the needs of everyday Austinites. Who does the City Council hear from? Not people like us - those working 9-to-5 jobs, those raising families, or especially those just trying to make ends meet. Life in Austin is a grind, but it’s an honorable one. We’re the ones building this city, keeping it running, and raising the next generation. Yet, our voices are drowned out by well-organized special interest groups who show up weekly to City Hall, pushing for more funding without considering the cost to everyone else. The Council’s focus on these loud voices ignores the silent majority who simply want a city that works for them. Essential services - first responders, utilities, streets, libraries, parks - should be the bedrock of our budget, fully funded without relying on tax hikes. Instead, the Council uses these services as leverage to justify taking more from us. They create permanent programs from temporary grants, like using a one-time bonus to take out a car loan you can’t afford, hoping for a raise that may never come. Generous programs often benefit a select few, while the services we all depend on remain underfunded. At Budget Town Hall meetings, residents asked a simple question: “What have you done to avoid tax rate increases?” Most Council members sidestepped the question. Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes was blunt, saying, “There’s nothing we can do.” But this crisis isn’t a surprise. It’s the result of their choices. The City Manager, appointed by the Council, executes their vision. They recommended these policies and approved the outcomes, yet they act as if their hands are tied. This tax rate election is just one piece of a larger problem. Multiple taxing entities - county, central health, school districts, and the state’s recapture system - compound our affordability crisis. Raising property taxes is a lazy, shortsighted response to Austin’s challenges. We need to scrutinize every layer of taxation, not just the city’s budget, to break this unaffordable cycle. By voting against Prop Q, we force our City Council in Austin to revisit the budget and find a way to live within their means. After all, that's what residents and businesses must do. City Council was elected to make hard decisions, cut wasteful spending, and nurture local economic growth. They act as though only they can save Austin, when the reality is that Austin must save itself. City Council needs to get out of the way and stop draining our resources.

This thread — which I’m seeing because you reposted it — is really freaking me out. Candace Owen is a certified nutcase, and yet there are dozens of people here abusing this guy because he corrected her. This is Blue Anon-level stuff. Cray cray.

This is truly profound. Carl Jung nailed it once again.

This has been my personal rule for living for decades:

I wonder if this might be of interest to you: compactmag.com/email/7cf62da…

Then: “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” Now:

C. S. Lewis also recommended reading old books as a cure for what ails us

Chaucer on getting up early to celebrate May, like Emily in The Knight's Tale: For May wole have no slogardie anyght. The sesoun priketh every gentil herte, And maketh it out of his slep to sterte, And seith 'Arys, and do thyn observaunce!' patreon.com/posts/and-after-…

Flannery O’Connor believed that although we are fallen, we are still good, and if we freely cooperate with God’s grace, our nature can be perfected in union with him, writes Jennifer A. Frey on.wsj.com/4ipFiWr

For those who celebrate:

RT @TempusFugit4016: Second Sunday After Epiphany "and the mother of Jesus was there" (Jn. ii. 1) "For the first time, we see the Blessed…

┏┓ ┃┃╱╲ In this ┃╱╱╲╲ house ╱╱╭╮╲╲ we respect ▔▏┗┛▕▔ ╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲  George Bailey ╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲ ▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔