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bolverk

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by bolverk

  1. 5 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

    The reason why public sector unions require so much cash is because the are essentially fundraising arms for the Democrat party, and until now, much of that fundraising has been legally mandated even among people who would otherwise despise the union's political priorities.

    The idea that public sector unions are apolitical entities, doing their best to improve the work conditions of their members who would be exploited if not for the unions, is a quaint century-old idea. The modern public sector union is made up of government employees with cushy work environments, and whose mission is to elect Democrats with forced union dues.

    Private sector unions are fine.  Public sector unions are dirtier than the mafia.  And more harmful.

    Bullshit. As a public employee for the State of Texas, I had an option to join the union. I did not and got royally fucked by my political appointee boss when I voiced concerns about your tax dollars going to some shady shit. I suppose I could've gone public, but I didn't want my career to be ruined. I essentially had zero employment protections without being a union member.

  2. 33 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

    Dems didn’t care that much then. Because they smugly assured us Hillary would win and nominate someone a lot more liberal.  The bitching started in earnest after the election. 

    Bullshit. Most of us were outraged by that unprecedented display of senatorial "leadership." But, yet again, the Republicans have lowered the bar, and you seem quite content to revel in your temporary "win."

    Guess what? The wimpy liberals are no longer just outraged but are reaching an enraged boiling point. Enjoy it while you can, because they'll be coming for folks like you.

    I have a feeling expressions like "Eat the rich" will be all the rage in a few years.

  3. 7 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

    Anything that happened to have been shot in Texas or set in Texas shouldn't necessarily be included. I think Texas or a particular place or part of Texas needs to basically be a whole character of a movie for it to count. That or the movie is about people or something distinctly Texan.

    I don't think Bernie has been mentioned, but it should definitely be somewhere on a list of Texas movies. Hell, the diner scene alone with the old man describing different parts of the state is classic.

  4. 16 minutes ago, Newdoc said:

    So Oliver’s banter is your primer for discussion on the politics board? Any other sources? And Fox News, MSNBC and CNN don’t count either.

    Lighten up, Francis. You need to take your sarcasm meter into the shop if you think I was serious about:

    Quote

    Here's everything you need to know about it:

    We can have some fun around here on occasion. Not every thread need be Thunderdome.

  5. Quote

     

    Autonomous shuttles will be driving in downtown Austin this fall

    It may not be the ’Dillo shuttle many Austinites remember, but a new downtown circulator operated by autonomous vehicles will launch this fall in Austin.

    The autonomous, or self-driving, shuttles are part of a new technology-infused approach to transit that Capital Metro has been exploring in the past couple of years.

    “We just really want to start connecting the community closer together through technology and the services Capital Metro provides,” President and CEO Randy Clarke said.

    Capital Metro will operate the pilot shuttle program, which has yet to be named, for 12 months, and rides will be free during that period. The agency will also be seeking bids from autonomous vehicle manufacturers to lease six vehicles for the program.

    The 15-passenger shuttles, which will be accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, will travel throughout downtown every 5 to 7 minutes on a route that has not yet been determined. However, the shuttle will serve major destinations, such as Austin City Hall, the new Central Library, Republic Square and the downtown MetroRail station, according to Capital Metro.

    “We think we could connect that whole east-west downtown connectivity piece that we know could be a little better than today,” Clarke said.

    Even though the shuttles will operate autonomously, an operator will be on board to assist customers and be on hand for any safety or security issues.

    Testing of the autonomous system will begin in July and take 60 days. The first phase will involve testing the technology without passengers on board and include assessing the battery life, how the vehicles dock to let passengers on and off, and safety concerns. The second phase would involve passengers on board, officials said.

    “This is not only a transportation project, but this is a tech project as well,” said Elaine Timbes, deputy chief operating officer of Capital Metro. “While it’s a proven tech, we still have some proving to do in the city of Austin.”

    In 2017, Capital Metro and RATP Dev, one of its service providers, hosted a demonstration of autonomous vehicles at The University of Texas during the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals. Autonomous shuttles are also a part of other innovative mobility solutions the agency will explore under its Connections 2025 service plan adopted last year.

    “[Autonomous vehicles are] kind of in this migration period right now between fully autonomous in the future and the vehicle kind of learning,” Clarke said. “We think it’s going to be safe and efficient, and it’s spread out from a capacity and frequency point of view.”

     

    IMG_1836.jpg

  6. Glad to see mention of Three Burials above.

    Can't leave out mention of my hometown in the opening sequence of Midnight Cowboy and its featured role in Hangar 18.

    This one was filmed last year too but hasn't been released yet, but looks excellent:

     

  7. 12 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

    remember when you used to see plastic bags littered everywhere? you probably don't, but get ready to see it again. when i travel outside of austin and see all the plastic bags everywhere, i am thankful for the bag ban.

    3

     

    8 hours ago, Celery Man said:

    Driving through McAllen a few years back it was like a western parody but sub plastic bags for tumbleweeds.

     

    Whenever I go out West Texas to see the folks, it's disheartening as hell to see all the plastic bags stuck in barbwire fences and mesquite. It always seems worse in winter when everything is dead and bare. The sight of those bags flapping in the wind is about the worst message a community could say about itself and always seems concentrated within a mile of a Walmart. Fucking sad.

    How come you never see Walmart sponsoring a section of roadway to be cleaned up like other businesses?

  8. 2 hours ago, bad_teammate said:

    The only people who give a shit about George Will are centrist cucks who were never going to like Donald Trump in the first place.

    lol @ anyone who thinks Bubba, Earl, or Cletus give a fuck about what George Will says

    For some of the olds, this might have some resonance. My dad has been a Republican as long as I can remember, and he used to revere everything George Will said. If he came on the boob-tube back in the 80s, my dad would shush anyone in the room. He's unfortunately been brainwashed by Fox News, so I'm not sure how he'll react nowadays or even if he'll know. It all depends on whether Hannity covers it.

  9. 5 minutes ago, RDCanecutter said:

    The alternative would be that Bentonville Arkansas gets half the sales tax for the country, and Seattle gets the rest.

    That's a very good point.

    I work in economic development, however, and specialize in downtown revitalization. One strategy that I'd been considering was encouraging local communities to help their local Etsy-like people transition into a downtown storefront while also still serving online customers. The advantage for the town would obviously be 1) an occupied storefront, 2) increased property taxes, and 3) gain additional sales tax through online purchases.

    So much for 3).

  10. 11 minutes ago, retsevlys said:

    In Alabama it's where title is transferred.  I would assume it's the same in all states.  So if you ship it to Amarillo, that is where the tax it due.  Previously, if you have no nexus(presence) in Amarillo or Potter County, you would only need to collect state taxes.  I haven't read the whole ruling yet, but it should allow the states to set a threshold for a requirement to collect tax.  So for instance, if your sales to New Mexico were $150,000 a year and New Mexico requires sales tax to be collected if your sales are over $100,000 than you would have to collect tax on sales to New Mexico.  Let's say Texas has the same threshold and your sales to Amarillo were over $100,000, then you would have to collect Amarillo local taxes.

    That's how it would work in Alabama anyway.

    So the point of purchase is considered to be where the customer is located and not the vendor? That sucks for the community in which the brick & mortar store is actually present and seems counterintuitive. Let's say I live in Abilene and drive up to Amarillo to buy something. In that case, I'm paying Amarillo's sales tax, not Abilene's.

    In other words, no advantage is conferred to the community for fostering a local enterprise.

  11. Can someone please straighten out for me this question?

    If I'm a knick-knack dealer located in Abilene and I sell/ship a product to someone in Amarillo, who gets the local sales tax dollars now? Abilene or Amarillo?

    At the moment, I have no idea what the rate is in either jurisdiction but I do know that one penny on the dollar goes to the local municipality and that up to one other penny can go to various local option uses (economic development, transit, property tax relief etc.). The State of Texas would get 6.25 cents on every dollar of purchase regardless.

    I know the question may sound trivial, but local communities are desperate for every cent out there. If, for example, a local knick-knack dealer is successful, I'd hope that my local community collects the taxes as opposed to where their customer lives.

  12. Does she not have handlers that can translate English to Slovenian for her?

    Back in the early 90s, I had a jacket almost just like that but it didn't say anything on the back. I got it off the rack at Old Navy for something like $19. /csb

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