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Thetexashammer

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Posts posted by Thetexashammer

  1. 1 hour ago, Frank Drebin said:

    Abigail Shrier just wrote a book relevant to this.  I know she is controversial for her other book and takes related to LGBTQ, but her new book has nothing to do with it and makes a lot of points parents should ponder.

    The book dives into trying to figure out why kids are having so many mental health problems, when there are so many resources devoted to improving mental health outcomes. Anxiety, depression, suicide, etc are all higher than they've ever been with kids, even though their lives are arguably better than ever before. It just doesn't make sense. A few key takeaways from the book:

    1. A constant attention on how kids are "feeling" or "thinking" is causing negative outcomes. Constantly ruminating on your emotions and how you feel negatively impacts your mental health. If all you do is focus on your emotions, you are destined to be anxious or depressed. We incessantly ask kids how they're feeling, if they're happy, how their mental health is, etc, and this is creating kids who think they're fragile instead of resilient.
    2. Trying to solve every problem for kids has caused a generation who can't do anything for themselves. Earlier generations were told to "suck it up" or "you'll live" or "rub some dirt on it" all the time. Many of us came to the conclusion this is "bad parenting" because our feelings were neglected, and we vowed not to do this to our own children. Because of that, kids immediately over-dramatize everything that happens to them, making mountains out of molehills, and thinking the world must revolve around their emotions and feelings.
    3. You develop confidence and strong mental health by doing things, not by thinking or via therapy. You can't think your way out of anxiety. You don't gain confidence by analysis of your thoughts or mental health issues. You gain confidence and eliminate anxiety by doing gradually more difficult tasks, excelling at them, and realizing you are a competent, capable person. The non-stop attention therapy gives to these small, common emotions we all feel blows them out of proportion to their seriousness (not talking about genuine disorders here, just normal anxieties that millions of people go to therapy to try to avoid).
    4. One of the best ways to decrease your happiness is to chase it. Our society constantly tells kids they should be "happy" and asks them if they are. Happiness isn't a state you should be in 24/7. That's not realistic. Joy and bliss aren't permanent states - they are fleeting. Contentment, stillness, and being even-keeled are much better goals to aim for mentally.
    5. The happiest, most well adjusted kids come from families with loving parents that have rules and structure for the household. 
    6. Constantly surveying school-age kids about their mental health causes more issues than it solves. Mental health resources is big money. Districts need to validate all the resources allocated towards mental health, and they often do that via surveys. Asking kids non-stop questions like:

    - Have you thought about self harm?

    - Have you thought about suicide?

    - Have you been so anxious you can't get out of bed? Etc, etc puts into their heads the idea that themselves, or many of their peers are broken and cannot function properly in the real world. It normalizes situations that would be incredibly rare at any other time in history. 

    Here is an interview she did with Jordan Peterson. JP is  hard to listen to, but she makes incredible points. There are shorter cuts from Rogan if you don't want to spend the time.

    Shrier simply asks why the cohort that received the most mental health treatment is the worst off mentally, and draws the obvious conclusion. Social media is obviously a huge problem of course, there are lots of other factors, but in the end, I think it's a lack of meaning in life. Purpose, if you prefer. Healthy stress. Nobody around is actually helping them. Why do IDF soldiers have such low rates versus US soldiers? 

    Young folks have everything and nothing at the same time.

     

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  2. 6 hours ago, Anastasis said:

    AIPAC running with the aggy-like Wyner piece now from Tablet. This is how propaganda and atrocity denial work together. 

     

     

    I don't need to dispute your numbers, I simply don't think they are relevant to the moral evaluation of Israeli conduct.

    Reference was made above to attacking a hospital is a war crime. Well, Hamas know the PR value of that kind of thing. So way before 7 OCT, they built out a network of hospitals across Gaza. Real hospitals, they get the PR for taking care of folks. But, they were ALL OF THEM colocated with military assets. This was a deliberate strategy by Hamas. Some call it the Dead Baby Strategy. It's kind of what they do.

    Prior to the D-Day landings on Normandy, we bombed the ever living shit out of the countryside. the French countryside. Populated by French citizens, who presumably, hated the Germans and wanted us to invade. And we blew up those French civilians who were on our side. With our bombs, dropped from our airplanes. For all intensive porpoises, it was a deliberate act. It was not even close to a war crime.

    America then decided that a critical vulnerability of the German war machine was ball bearings. In the plants we bombed, they weren't staffed by military, probably by mostly women. The hospitals and grocery stores and nursery schools we destroyed when our bombs missed their targets, well that was a casualty of war. Still not a war crime. 

    The scenario you are proposing seems to indicate Israel should not fire back when shot at, if there are civilians at risk. I assure you, America would shoot back. And so should the Israelis. It's not much more complicated than self defense. Hamas's war crimes (using human shields) are on them, not Israel. Realistically, this is black letter law. It's not my opinion, it's how war works.  The right to fire back when attacked is God given, few people actually debate the truth of it.

    The military mission of Israel is to kick Hamas out of power. How do you do that without killing their soldiers? Hamas is embedded with civilians, aiming to sacrifice as many innocents as they can. I don't know what you can do about that.

    I feel for the Palestinians. I don't know what else to say. Nothing can be done, innocent lives will be lost. It is a tragedy. 

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  3. According to documents obtained by the New York Post, Lemon attempted to shake down the billionaire in contract talks for his new X show.

    The report stated, "The ex-CNN anchor sent over an astronomical wish list to Elon Musk during contract talks to host a show on the billionaire's social media platform X – including a free Tesla Cybertruck, a $5 million upfront payment on top of an $8 million salary, an equity stake in the multibillion-dollar company, and the right to approve any changes in X policy as it relates to news content." 

    Lemon's agents at United Talent Agency sent X's leadership the contract proposal in December for review. 

    A source knowledgeable about the situation said Lemon also demanded a private jet flight to Las Vegas, a suite for him and his fiance. They also noted Lemon requested X cover day drinking tabs and fancy massages. 

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  4. 3 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

    When a hospital is hit it is a war crime. That is pretty well known.

    I agree, if Israel hits a hospital, it is a war crime that is attributable to Hamas and the deaths are on Hamas. The use of human shields is a war crime, in a legal sense. 

  5. 16 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

    I know that and fuck them. This is war crimes live in our face. I won't call it genocide yet.

    But lets remember how the Arabs treat the Palestinians. Great for the leaders, sucks for the herder/nurse/refugee.

    Could be true. If so, it's awfully weird that nobody here has posted a credible link (that didn't come from Hamas or its sympathizers).

  6. 14 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

    Is there actually anything to the mistrust of these numbers based on empirical data/actual intelligence or is it just a general feeling of mistrust because the numbers come from Gaza?

    As far as I can tell, the numbers they report have been considered historically reliable by most entities including various major news outlets around the world, our own State Department, Israeli Intelligence, the UN, and various NGOs that track this kind of stuff. I can't find an instance online where the deviation from the reported numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry was more than a few percentage points away from anyone else's numbers.

    What percentage of the reported casualties are direct or indirect human shields, for whom Hamas is responsible? Did they factor that into the analysis before declaring Israel is responsible for these deaths? 

  7. On 3/1/2024 at 8:58 AM, FirstTimeCaller said:

    They can create the tech all they want and I'm sure it will/is created.

    Will spending BTC day-to-day have wide adoption? Not until (if ever) the price has stability and the tax issue is resolved. A one-off large transaction like buying a home with BTC? Sure, I can see that. Going to the convenience store and buying a couple of drinks and a tank of gas? No. 

    If you are suggesting that there we are going to order a pizza in Satoshis, nobody is arguing that. The normal unit of currency will always be dollars, except as you point out for large transactions like houses.

    However, you will absolutely be able to swipe a POS sale application and pay with BTC. It may be as simple as large banks allow you to pay your credit card statement with BTC. However, there are already a few POS BTC applications from small companies. I don't think the Lightning Layer 2 solution is technically ready yet, but there is VERY little reason to believe it can't be worked out. And by worked out, I mean it solves the transaction cost problem one way or another.

    The tax thing is a complete nonissue.

    Now, probably YOU won't be buying stuff in BTC. But there are >50 million Americans, many of whom hold highly large volumes appreciated BTC. You could be right, big companies no longer care about profits. However, I think they do. Now that large institutions are involved it is only a matter of time.

  8. 7 hours ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

    I think the value of BTC as a currency is quickly leaving in the rear-view mirror. It's at best a store of value and at worst, a speculative asset. Why would I want to spend BTC to buy pizza when it's gained significantly since inception? That $20 pizza could be worth $2,000 one day (or $0)

    The tax situation as well is a huge hindrance. Nobody wants to have to calculate their cost basis for a pizza.

    So let me see if I understand you.

    1. The price has bitcoin has increase a lot (more money to spend).

    2. Ownership of Bitcoin is expanding from a small niche to a very broad ownership base (more people to spend money).

    3. Large institutions, for the first time ever, have an interest in the success of Bitcoin (resources to develop).

    4. Bitcoin is receiving tremendous "free advertising" (FOMO).

    5. Technology is making new POS technology easier by the day.

    Having evaluated the wherefors and whathaveyous, you decided based on these facts that there is basically no chance in hell anyone will develop a POS Bitcoin application to spend the increasing billions people have accumulated in capital gains.

    Do I have this right?

  9. 2 hours ago, Parliament said:

    I’m not questioning the strategic intent or anything, and definitely not saying it’s easy.  
     

    what are these missile/drone launch sites like?  How mobile are they?  What is their supply chain?  Is it practical to take out a bunch with missiles/bombs?

    If you want to stop it, you don't send the missiles to Yemen. You send them to Iran.

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